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THE HUDSON, 



HE WILDERNESS TO THE SEA. 



BENSON J. LOSSING. 



ILLUSTRATED BY THREE HUNDRED AND SIX EKGRAVIKGS OH WOOD, 

FROM DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR, 
AND A FRONTISPIECE ON STEEL. 



NEW YORK: 
VIHTUE AND YOESTON. 



filtered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, 
By VIETUE & yOESTON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United Stales for the Scmtliern 
District of New York. 






PREFACE. 




HE pen and pencil sketclies of tlie Hudson River 
and its associations contained in this Volume, 
were made by the writer a few years ago, and 
were published in a series of numbers of the 
London Art- Journal (for which they were origi- 
nally prepared) during the years 1860 and 1861. They 
have been revised by the writer for publication in the 
present form, changes in persons and things requiring 
such revision. 
It is impossible to give in pictures so necessarily small as are 
those which illustrate this Volume, an adequate idea of the beauty 
and grandeur of the scenery of the Hudson River ; so, in the 
choice of subjects, the judgment was governed more by considera- 
tions of utility than of mere artistic taste. Only such objects have 
been delineated and described as bore relations to the history, 
traditions, and business life of the river here celebrated, whose 
course, from the Wilderness to the Sea, measures a distance 
of full three himdred miles. 

The reader will bear in mind that when the present tense is 
used, allusion is made to the beginning of the year 1866, at which 
time the revision of these sketches was made. 

B. J. L. 



PoUGHKKEPSlE, N.Y., March, 1866. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Initial Letter— The Cardinal Flower a 

Moosehead 

A Lodge in the Wilderness... 

Eaquette River 

Tenants of the Upper Hudson Forests 

Camp Helena 

Sabattis 

Hendrick Spring 

Swamp Travel 

Catlin Lake 

First Clearing on the Hudson i 

First Saw-Mill on the Hudson 

Elephant Island 

Lumber Dam and Sluice 

Initial Letter— The Wayside Fountain 
Eapids at the Head of Harris's Lake 

Sandford Lake 

The Iron Dam 

Adirondack Village 

Departure for Tahawus 

First Bridge over the Hudson 

Bark Cabin at Calamity Pond 

Henderson's Monument 

Fall in the Opalescent Eiver 

Climbing Tahawus 

Spring on the Peak of Tahawus 

Hospice on the Peak of Tahawus 

Initial Letter— A Sap Trough 

The Loon 

Lake Golden 

Outlet of Henderson Lake 

Trees on Boulders 

Adirondack, or Indian Pass 

Henderson's Lake 

Out of the Wilderness 

Moose Horns 

Outlet of Paradox Lake 

Isola Bella 

Stimip-Machine 

View at Warrensbm-g 

Confluence of the Hudson and Suarron 

Fort WilUam Henry Hotel 

Initial Letter— Cavern at Glen's Falls 

Falls at Luzerne 

Masque Alonge 



Luzerne Lake 

Confluence of the Hudson and Sacandaga . 
Kah-che-bon-cook, or Jesup's Great Falls . 
The Hudson near the Queensbury Line ... 

The Great Boom 

Glen's Falls 

Below the Bridge at Glen's Falls 

Baker's Falls 

Ground-plan of Fort Edward 

The Jenny M'Crca Tree ... 

Bahn-of-Gilead Tree 

View at Fort Edward 

"Cob-Money" 

Fort Miller Rapids 

Initial Letter— Canal Bridge and Boat ... 
Canal Bridge across the Hudson above the 

Saratoga Dam 

Confluence of the Hudson and Batten-Kill 
Di-on-on-deh-o-wa, or Great Falls of the 

Batten-KiU 

The Reidesel House 

Cellar of Reidesel House 

Eapids of the Fish Creek, at Schuylerville 

The Schuyler Mansion 

Scene of Burgoyne's Surrender 

Gates's Head-quarters 

Eope Ferry 

Burgoyne's Encampment (from a Print 

published in London, in 1779) 

House in which General Fraser died 

Eraser's Burial-iilace 

Neilson's House, Bemis's Heights 

Eoom occupied by Major Acklaud 

Relics from the Battle Field 

DeiTick Swarfs House at Stillwater 

Viaduct of the Vermont Central Railwaj' . 
Waterford and Lansingburgh Bridge 

View at Cohoes Falls 

Lock at State Dam, Troy 

Vanderheyden House 

Rensselaer and Saratoga Railway Bridge . 

View of Troy from Mount Ida 

United States Arsenal at Watei-vliet 

Schuyler House at the Flats 

Van Rensselaer Manor House 



PAGE 

. 62 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Van Rensselaer Arms 121 

Old Dutch Church in Albany 122 

Street View in Ancient Albanj' 124 

A'anderheyden Palace 125 

Fort Frederick 127 

General Schuj-ler's Mansion in Albany ... 129 

Staircase in Schuyler's Mansion 131 

The State Capitol 133 

Canal Basin at Albany ... 134 

The Dudley Observatory 137 

Greenbush Kailway Station 139 

View near the Overslagh 1-12 

Coxsakie 144 

Fishing Station— Sturgeon, Shad, Bass ... 14-t 

View from the Promenade, Hudson 147 

Athens, from the Hudson Iron Works ... 148 

View at Katz-Kill Landing 149 

Entrance to the Katzbergs 1.51 

Rip Van Winkle's Cabin 153 

Mountain House, from the Road 1.56 

View from South Mountain 1.59 

Katers-Kill Falls 162 

The Fawn's Leap 164 

Scene at the Katers-Kill, near Palensville 165 

OldClei-mont 167 

Clermont 168 

View at De Koven's Bay 170 

The Clermont 170 

Livingston's Mansion at Tivoli 171 

Mouth of Esopus Creek, Saugerties 172 

St. Stephen's College 173 

Montgomery Place 174 

The Katzbergs from Montgomery Place ... 1 75 

Rokeby 176 

Beekman's House 177 

Ellerslie 17S 

A'iew from Wildercliff 179 

Kingston 182 

Rondont Creek 184 

Placentia 186 

Poughkeepsie, from Lewisbiu-g 187 

Van Kleek House 189 

The Highlands, from Poughkeepsie 190 

Locust Grove 191 

Milton Ferry and Hor.se-Boat 192 

New Hamburg Tunnel 193 

The Arbor Vitis 194 

Marlborough, from the Lime-Kilns 195 

Mouth of Wappingi's Creek 196 

Washington's Head-quarters at Newburgh 199 

Interior of Washington's Head-quarters ... 2n0 

Lite-Guard Mommient 201 

Newburgh Bay 202 

Fishkill Landing and Newburgh 203 

Idlewild from the Brook 204 

In the Glen at Idlewild 205 

Upper Entrance to the Highlands 207 



PAGE 

At the Foot of the Stoi-m King 209 

" The Powell " off the Storm King Valley 210 

.Scene off the Storm King Valley 211 

Highland Entrance to Newburgh Bay 
Nortliern View from tlie Storm King ... 214 
Southern View from the Storm King ... 216 

Kidd's Plug Cliff 217 

Crow's Nest 218 

Cadet's Monument 221 

Cold Spring, from the Cemetery 222 

West Point, from the Cemetery 223 

Fort Putnam, from the West 224 

View from Fort Putnam 225 

Lieutenant-Colonel Wood's Mommient ... 226 
View from the Siege Battery ... 

The Great Chain 228 

Western View, from Roe's Hotel 229 

The Parade 230 

Kosciuszko's Monument 231 

Dade's Command's Monument 232 

Kosciuszko's Garden 233 

View from Battery Knox 234 

The Beverly House „. ... 236 

The Staircase of the Robinsons' House ... 240 

1 he Indian Falls 241 

View South from Dutilh's 242 

Indian Brook 243 

View from Rossiter's Mansion 245 

West Point Foundrj' 

Undercliff 218 

Ruins of Batter}' on Constitution Island ... 250 

View at Garrison's 251 

Cozzens's 252 

Church of the Holy Innocents ... 253 

The Road to Cozzens's Dock 254 

Buttermilk Falls 2.55 

Upper Cascades, Buttermilk Falls 256 

Beverly Dock 

Lower Entrance to the Highlands, fiom 

Peek's KUl 

Falls in Fort Jlontgomery Creek 
Scene in Fort Montgomery Creek 

Lake Sinnipink 

Anthony's Nose and the Sugar Loaf, from 

the Ice Depot 

Tunnel at Antliony's Nose 

The Brocken Kill 

Rattlesnake 

Tunnel at Flat Point 

lona, from the Railway 

Donder Berg Point 

The Peek's Kill 

Skaters on Peek's Kill Bay 

Winter Fishing 

Fishermen, from the Old Lime-Kilns 
Tomkins's Lime-Kilns and Quarry .. 
Stony Point .. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


vii 


PAGE 


PAGE 


Stony Point Lighthouse and Fog-Bell 


28:J 


Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb 


380 


Verplanck's Point, from Stony Point 




Audubon s Residence 


382 


Lighthouse 


2S5 


View in Trinity Cemetery 


385 


Grassy Point and Torn Mountain 


286 


Manhattanville, from Claremon t 


386 


Smith's House on Treason Hill 


288 


Claremont 


387 


Meeting-place of Andre and Arnold 


292 


View on Bloomingdale Road 




Sleigh Riding on the Hudson 


296 


Asylum for the Insane 


390 


Croton Aqueduct at Sing Sing 


297 


Elm Park in 1861 


391 


State Prison at Sing Sing 


299 


Orphan Asylum 


394 


State Prisoners 


300 


Harlem Plains 


395 


Crolon Point, from Sing Sing 


304 


View in Central Park 


396 


Rockland, or Slaughterer's Landing 


305 


The Terrace Bridge and Mall 


399 


RockhuKl Lake 


306 


A Squatter Village 


400 


Mouth of the Croton 


307 


Provoost's Tomb -Jones's Woods 


401 


Croton Dam 


309 


View near Hell-Gate 


403 


Ventilators 


310 


The Beekman Mansion 


406 


High Bridge over the Croton 


311 


Turtle Bay and BlackweU's Island 


407 


Van Cortlandt Manor House 


312 


The Reservoir, Fifth Avenue 


408 


View from Prickly Pear Hill 


316 


Fifth Avenue Hotel, Madison Park 


409 


The Porpoise 


317 


Worth's Monument 


412 


General Ward's Mansion 


318 


Union Park 


415 


Ancient Dutch Church 


320 


Stuyvesant Pear Tree 


416 


Sleepy Hollow Bridge 


321 


Stuyvesant's House 


417 


Ining's Grave 


324 


St. Mark's Chtu'ch and Historical Society 




Phihpse's Mill-Dam 


327 


■ House 


413 


Philipse Castle 


328 


Bible House, Cooper Institute, and Clinton 




Distant View at Tarrytown 


329 


HaU 


419 


View on the Po-can-te-co from Irving 




Washington's Residence as it ai^ipeared in 




Park ■ 


330 


1850 


421 


Monument at Tarrytown 


331 


Franklin Squai-e 


423 


Washington's Head-quarters at Tappan ... 


336 


Broadway at St. Paul's 


424 


Andi-e's Pen and Ink Sketch 


338 


Soldiers' Monument in Trinity Churchyard 


426 


Andre's Monument 


339 


Seals of New Amsterdam and New York... 


427 


Paulding Manor 


340 


Dutch Mansion and Cottage in New Am- 




Sunnyside ... 


342 


sterdam 


423 


Ining's Study 


343 


The Bowling Green and Fort George in 1783 


429 


The Brook at Sunnyside 


346 


The Bowling Green in 1861 


431 


The Pond, or " Mediterranean Sea " 


347 


The Battery and Castle Garden 


432 


Wolfert's Boost when Irving purchased it 


350 


Old Federal HaU 


433 


View at Irvington 


354 


Hudson River Steamers leaving New York 


434 


Nevis 


355 


View near- Nyack 


436 


View at Dobbs's Ferry 


356 


View from Fort Lee 


433 


View near Hastings 


357 


Bull's Ferry 


440 


Livingston Mansion 


353 


Duelling Ground, Weehawk 


448 


The Palisades 


359 


View at the Elj^sian Fields 


450 


Philipse Manor Hall 


363 


Stevens's Floating Battery 


451 


The "Half-Moon" 


363 


Jersey City and Cunard Dock 


453 


Font Hill 


365 


Brooklyn Feny and Heights 


454 


Mount St. Vincent Academy 


366 


Navy Yard, Brooklyn 


455 


Spy t den Duyvel Creek 


367 


S3dvan Water, Greenwood 


456 


The Centm-y House 




Governor's and Bedloe's Islands 


457 


The High Bridge 


372 


The Narrows, from Quarantine 


458 


The Harlem River, from the Morris House 


373 


Fort Lafayette 


459 


The Morris Mansion 


374 


Fort Hamilton 


460 


The Grange 


375 


Surf Bathing, Coney Island 


461 


View on Washington Heights 


378 


Sandy Hook, from the Ship Channel 


463 


Jeffery's Hook 


379 


Sandy Hook, from the Lighthouses 


463 



THE HUDSON, 

FROM THE WILDERNESS TO THE SEA. 




CHATTEll T. 

T is proposed to present, in a series of sketclies 
witli pen and pencil, pictures of the Hud- 
soa lliver, from its birth among th(^ 
mountains to its marriage with the ocean. 
'^ff 'IM It is by far the most interesting river in 
*'' ' America, considering the beauty and mag- 
nificence of its scenery, its natural, political, 
and social history, the agricultural and 
mineral treasures of its vicinage, the com- 
mercial wealth hourly floating upon its 
bosom, and the relations of its geography 
__ and topography to some of the most im- 

portiint events in the history of the Western hemisphere. 

High upon the walls of the governor's room in the Xew York City 
Hall is a dingy painting of a broad-headed, short-haired, sparsely-bearded 
man, with an enormous ruffle about his neck, and bearing the impress 
of an intellectual, courtly gentleman of the days of King James the First 
of England. By whom it was painted nobody knows, but conjecture 
shrewdly guesses that it was delineated by the hand of Paul Van 
Soraeren, the skilful Flemish artist who painted the portraits of many 
persons of distinction in Amsterdam and London, in the reign of James, 
and died in the British capital four years before that monarch. We are 




THE HUDSON. 



■u'ell assured that it is the portrait of an eminent navigator, who, in that 
remarkable year in the history of England and America, one thousand six 
hundred and seven, met "certains worshippeful merchants of London," 
in the parlour of a son of Sir Thomas Gresham, in Bishopsgatc Street, 
and bargained concerning a proposed voyage in search of a north-east 
passage to India, between the icy and rock-bound coasts of Nova Zembla 
and Spitzbergcn. 

That navigator was Henry Hudson, a friend of Captain John Smith, a 
man of science and liberal views, and a pupil, perhaps, of Drake, or 
Probisher, or Grenville, in the seaman's art. On May-day morning he 
knelt in tlic church of St. Ethelburga, and partook of the Sacrament ; and 
soon afterward he left the Thames for the circumpolar waters. During 
two voyages he battled the ice-pack manfully off the Korth Cape, but with- 
out success : boreal frosts were too intense for the brine, and cast impene- 
trable ice-barriers across the eastern pathway of the sea. His employers 
praised the navigator's skill and courage, but, losing faith in the scheme, 
the undertaking was abandoned. Hudson went to Holland with a stout 
heart ; and the Dutch East India Company, then sending their uncouth 
argosies to every sea, gladly employed "the bold Englishman, the expert 
pilot, and famous navigator," of whose fame they had heard so much.} 

At the middle of March, 1609, Heudrick, as the Dutch called him, 
sailed from Amsterdam in a yacht of ninety tons, named the Half -Moon, 
manned with a choice crew, and turned his prow, once more, toward 
Nova Zembla. Again ice, and fogs, and fiei'ce tempests, disputed his 
passage, and he steered westward, passed Cape Farewell, and, on the 2nd 
of July, made soundings upon the banks of Newfoundland. He sailed 
along the coast to the fine harbour of Charleston, in South Carolina, in 
search of a north-west passage " below Yirginia," spoken of by his friend 
Captain Smith. Disappointed, he turned northward, discovered Delaware 
Bay, and on the 3rd of September anchored near Sandy Hook. On the 
11th he passed through the Narrows into the present bay of New York,- 
and from his anchorage beheld, with joy, wonder, and hope, the waters of 
the noble Mahicannituck, or Mohegan Eiver, flowing from the high blue 
hills on the north. Toward evening the following day he entered the 
broad stream, and with a full persuasion, on account of tidal currents. 



THE HUDSON. 



that the river upon which he was borne flowed from ocean to ocean, he 
rejoiced in the dream of being the leader to the long-sought Cathay. 
But when the magnitieeut liighlands, fifty miles from tlie sea, were passed, 
and the stream narrowed and the water freshened, hope failed him. Eut 
the indescribable beauty of the virgin land through which he was 
voyaging, filled his heart and mind with exquisite pleasure ; and as 
deputations of dusky men came from the courts of the forest sachems to 
visit him, in wonder and awe, he seemed transformed into some majestic 
and mysterious hero of the old sagas of the Nortli. 

The yacht anchored near the shore where Albany now stands, but a 
boat's crew, accompanied by Hudson, went on, and beheld the waters of 
the Mohawk foaming among the rocks at Cohoes. Then back to New 
York Bay the navigator sailed ; and after a parting salutation with the 
chiels of the Manhattans at the mouth of the river, and taking formal 
possession of the country in the name of the government of Holland, he 
departed for Europe, to tell of the glorious region, filled with fur-bearing 
animals, beneath the parallels of the North Virginia Charter. He landed 
in England, but sent his log-book, charts, and a full account of his 
voyage to his employers at Amsterdam. King James, jealous because of 
the advantages which the Dutch might derive from these discoveries, kept 
Hudson a long time in England ; but tlie Hollanders had all necessary 
information, and very soon ships of the company and of private adventurers 
were anchored in the waters of the Mahicannituck, and receiving the 
wealth of the forests from the wild men who inhabited them. The 
Dutchmen and the Indians became friends, close-bound by the cohesion 
of ti'ade. The river was named Mauritius, in honour of the Stadtholder 
of the Netherlands, and the seed of a great empire was planted there. 

The English, in honour of their countryman who discovered it, called 
it Hudson's River, and to the present time that title has been maintained; 
but not without continual rivalry with that of North Eivei-, given it by 
the early Dutch settlers after the discovery of the Delaware, which was 
named South Eiver. It is now as often called North Eiver as Hudson in 
the common transactions of trade, names of corporations, &c. ; but these, 
with Americans, being convertible titles, produce no confusion. 

For one hundred and fifty years after its discovery, the Hudson, above 



THE HUDSON. 



Albany, was little kuowu to Avhite men, excepting hunters and trappers, 
and a few isolated settlers ; and the knowledge of its sources among lofty 
alpine ranges is one of the revelations made to the present century, and 
even to the present generation. And now very few, excepting the 
hunters of that region, have personal knowledge of the beauty and wild 
grandeur of lake, and forest, and mountain, out of which spring the 
fountains of the river w^e are about to describe. To these fountains and 
their forest courses I made a pilgrimage toward the close of the summer 
of 1859, accompanied by Mrs. Lossing and Mr. S. M. Buckingham, an 
American genth;man, formerly engaged in mercantile business in Man- 
chester, England, and who has travelled extensively in the East. 

Our little company, composed of the minimum in the old prescription 
for a dinner-party — not more than the Muses nor less than the Graces — 
left our homes, in the pleasant rural city of Poughkeepsie, on the Hudson, 
for the Avildernesss of northern New York, by a route which we are 
satisfied, by experience and observation, to be the best for the tourist or 
sportsman bound for the head waters of that river, or the high plateau 
northward and westward of them, where lie in solitary beauty a multitude 
of lakes filled with delicious fish, and embosomed in primeval forests 
abounding with deer and other game. We travelled by railway about 
one hundred and fifty miles to "Whitehall, a small village in a rocky 
gorge, where Wood Creek leaps in cascades into the head of L-ikc Cham- 
plain. There we tarried until the following morning, and at ten o'clock 
embarked upon a steamboat for Port Kent — our point of departure for the 
wild interior, far down the lake on its western border. The day was 
fine, and the shores of the lake, clustered with historical associations, 
presented a series of beautiful pictures ; for they were rich with forest 
verdure, the harvests of a fruitful seed-time, and thrifty villages and 
farmhouses. Behind these, on the east, arose the lofty ranges of the 
Green Mountains, in Vermont ; and on the west were the Adirondacks of 
New York, whither we were journeying, their clustering peaks, distant 
and shadowy, bathed in the golden light of a summer afternoon. 

Lake Champlain is deep and narrow, and one hundred and forty mile 
in length. It received its present name from its discoverer, the eminent 
French navigator, Samuel Champlain, who was upon its waters the same 



THE HUDSON. 



year when Hudson sailed up tlie river -which bears his name. Champlaiu 
came from the north, and Hudson from the south ; and they penetrated 
the -wilderness to points within a hundred miles of each other. Long 
before, the Indians had given it the significant title of Can-i-a-de-ri Qua- 
run-te, the Door of the Country. The appropriateness of this name will 
be illustrated hereafter. 

It was evening when we arrived at Port Kent. We remained until 
morning with a friend (Winslow C. AVatson, Es(i., a descendant of 
Governor Winslow, who came to New England in the 3IaijfIotrer), Avhoso 
personal explorations and general knowledge of the region we were 
about to visit, enabled him to give us information of much value in our 
subsequent course. With himself and family we visited the walled banks 
of the Great Au Sable, near Keeseville, and stood with wonder and awe 
at the bottom of a terrific gorge in sandstone, rent by an earthquake's 
power, and a foaming river rushing at our feet. The gorge, for more 
than a mile, is from thirty to forty feet in width, and over one hundred 
in depth. This was our first experience of the wild scenery of the north. 
The tourist should never pass it unnoticed. 

Our direct route from Keeseville lay along the picturesque valley of the 
Great An Sable Iliver, a stream broken along its entire course into cascades, 
draining about seven hundred square miles of mountain country, and 
falling four thousand six hundred feet in its passage from its springs to 
Lake Champlain, a distance of only about forty miles. We made a detour 
of a few miles at Keeseville for a special purpose, entered the valley at 
twilight, and passed along the margin of the rushing waters of the Au 
Sable six miles to the Forks, where we remained until morning. The 
day dawned gloomily, and for four hours we rode over the mountains 
toward the Saranac Iliver in a drenching rain, for which we were too 
well prepared to experience any inconvenience. At Franklin Falls, on 
the Saranac, in the midst of the wildest mountain scenery, where a few 
years before a forest village had been destroyed by fire, we dined upon 
trout and venison, the common food of the wilderness, and then rode on 
toward the Lower Saranac Lake, at the foot of which we were destined to 
leave roads, and horses, and industrial pursuits behind, and live upon the 
solitary lake and river, and in the almost unbroken woods. 



6 THE HUDSON. 



The clouds were scattered early in the afternoon, but lay in heavy 
masses upon the summits of the deep blue mountains, and deprived us of 
the pleasure to be derived from distant views in the amphitheatre of 
everlasting hills through which we were journeying. Our road was over 
a high rolling country, fertile, and in process of rapid clearing. The log- 
houses of the settlers, and the cabins of the charcoal burners, were 
frequently seen ; and in a beautiful VitUey, watered by a branch of the 
Saranac, we passed througli a pleasant village called Bloomingdale. 
Toward evening we reached the sluggish outlet of the Saranac Lakes, 
and at a little before sunset our postilion reined up at Eaker's Inn, two 
miles from the Lower Lake, and fifty-one from Port Kent. To the lover 
and student of nature, the artist and the philosopher, the country through 
w^hich we had passed, and to which only brief allusion may here be made, 
is among the most inviting spots upon the globe, for magnificent and 
picturesqi,?"' ■• scenery, mineral wealth, and geological wonders, abound on 
every side. "' 

At Baker's Inn every comfort for a reasonable man was found. Tliere 
we piocured guides, boats, and provisions for the wilderness; and at a 
little pai^t noon on the following day we were fairly beyond the sounds of 
the settlements, upon a placid lake studded with islands, the sun shining 
in unclouded splendour, and the blue peaks of distant mountains looming 
above the dense forests that lay in gloomy grandeur between lis and their 
rugged acclivities. 

Our party now consisted of five, Uxo guides having been added to it. 
One of them was a son of Mr. Baker, the otlier a pure-blooded Penobscot 
Indian from the slate of Maine. Each had a light boat — so light that he 
might carry it upon his shoulders at portages, or the intervals between 
the navigable portions of streams or lakes. In one of these was borne 
our luggage, provisions, and Mr. Buckingham, and in the other 
Mrs. Lossing and myself. 

The Saranac Lakes are three iu uumbir, and lie on the south-eastei'u 
borders of Franklin County, north of Mount Seward. They are known 
as the Upper, Bound, and Lower. The latter, over which we first 
voyaged, is six miles in length. From its head we passed along a winding 
and narrow river, fringed with rushes, lilies, and moose-head plants, 



THE HUDSON. 



almost to the central or Eoiind Lake, where we made a portage of a few 
rods, and dined beneath a towering pine-tree. While there, two deer- 
hounds, whose voices we had heard in the forest a few minutes before, 
came dashing up, dripping with the lake water through which they had 
been swimming, and, after snuffing the scent of our food wistfully for 
a moment, disappeared as suddenly. We crossed Eouud Lake, three 
and a half miles, and went up a narrow river about a mile, to the falls 




rj \Mi r I 1 Npi'- 



at the outlet of the Tipper Saranac. Here, twelve miles from our 
embarkation, was a place of entertainment for tourists and sportsmen, in 
the midst of a small clearing. A portage of an eighth of a mile, over 
which the boats and luggage were carried upon a waggon, brought us to 
the foot of the Upper Lake. On this dark, wild sheet of water, thirteen 
miles in length, we embarked toward the close of the day, and just before 
sunset reached the lodge of Corey, a hunter and guide well known in all 
that region. It stood near the gravelly shore of a beautiful bay with a 
large island in its bosom, heavily wooded with evergreens. It was 
Saturday evening, and here, in this rude house of logs, whei-e we had 



THE HUDSON. 



been pleasantly received by a modest and genteel young woman, we 
resolved to spend the Sabbath. Kor did we regret our resolution. ^Yc 
found good wilderness accommodations ; and at midnight the hunter came 
with his dogs from a long tramp in the woods, bringing a fresh-killed 
deer upon his shoulders. 

Our first Sabbath in the wilderness was a delightful one. It was a 
perfect summer-day, and all around us were freshness and beauty. We 
were alone with God and His works, far away from the abodes of men ; 
and when at evening the stars came out one by one, they seemed to the 
communing spirit like diamond lamps hung up in the dome of a great 
cathedral, in which we had that day worshipped so purely and lovingly. 
It is profitable, as Eryant says, to 

" Go abroad 
Upon the paths of Nature, and, when all 
Its voices whisper, and its silent things 
Are breathing the deep beauty <if the world, 
Kneel at its ample altar." 

Early on Monday morning we resumed our journey. We walked a 
mile through the fresh woods to the upper of the three Spectacle Ponds, 
on which we were to embark for the Raquette Eiver and Long Lake. 
Our boats and luggage were here carried upon a waggon for the last time; 
after that they were all borne upon the shoulders of the guides. Here 
we were joined by another guide, with his boat, who was leturning to his 
home, near the head waters of the Hudson, toward Avhieh we were 
journeying. The guides Avho were conducting xis were to leave us at 
Long Lake, and finding the one who had joined us intelligent and 
obliging, and well acquainted with a portion of the region we were about 
to explore, we engaged him for the remainder of our wilderness travel. 

The Spectacle Ponds are beautiful sheets of water in the forest, lying 
near each other, and connected by shallow streams, through which the 
guides waded and dragged the boats. The outlet — a narrow, sinuous 
stream, and then shallow, because of a drought that was prevailing in all 
that northern country — is called " Stony Brook." After a course of 
thrci' and a half miles tlirough wild and picturesque scenery, it empties 
into the llaquette lliver. All along its shores we saw fresh tracks of the 



THE HUDSON. 



9 



deer, and upon its banks the splendid Cardinal flower {Lobelia cardinalis), 
glowing like flame, was seen in many a nook>' 

Our entrance into the Raquette was so quiet and unexpected, that we 




EAQlliTTK EIVKR. 



were not aware of the change until we were fairly upon its broader 
bosom. It is the most beautiful river in all that wild interior. Its 



* This superb plant is found from July to October along the shores of the lakes, rivers, and rivulets, 
and in swamps, all over northern New York. It is perennial, and is borne upon an erect stem, from two 
to three feet in height. The leaves are long and slender, with a long, tapering base. The flowere are 
large and very sliowj'. Corolla bright scarlet ; the tube slender ; segments of the lower lip oblong- 
lanceolate ; filaments red; anthers blue ; stigma tlu-ee-lobed, and at length protruded. It grows readily 
when transplanted, even in dry soil, and is frequently seen in our gardens. A picture of this plant 
forms a portion of the design around the initial letter at the head of this chapter. 



10 



THE HUDSON. 



shores are generally low, and extend back some distance in wet prairies, 
upon wliieli grow the soft maple, the aspen, alder, linden, and other 
deciduous trees, interspersed with the hemlock and pine. These fringe 
its borders, and standing in clumps upon the prairies, in the midst of rank 
grass, give them the appearance of beautiful deer parks ; and they are 
really so, for there herds of deer do pasture. We saw their fresh tracks 
all along the shores, but they are now so continually hunted, that they 
keep away from the waters whenever a strange sound falls upon their 
cars. In the deep wilderness through which this dark and rapid river 
flows, and ai-ound the neighbouring lakes, the stately moose yet lingers ; 




Tr>\MS or iiir 1 1 1 rr nii,'. 



and upon St. Regis Lake, north of the Saranac group, two or three 
families of the beaver — the most rare of all the tenants of these forests — 
might then be found. The otter is somc^vhat abundant, but the panther 
has become almost extinct ; the wolf is seldom seen, except in winter ; 
and the black bear, quite abundant in the mountain ranges, was shy and 
invisible to the summer tourist. 

The chief source of the Eaquette is in Raqucttc Lake, toward the 
western part of Hamilton County. Around it the Indians, in the ancient 
days, gathered on snow-shoes, in winter, to hunt the moose, then found 



THE HUDSOX. 11 



there iu large droves ; and from that circumstance they named it 
" Kaquet," the equivalent in Preuch for snow-shoe in English."^' 

tSeven miles from our entrance upon the Raquette, we came to the 
" Falls," where the stream rushes in cascades over a rocky bed for a mile. 
At the foot of the rapids we dined, and then walked a mile over a lofty, 
thickly-wooded hill, to their head, where we re-embarked. Here our 
guides first carried their boats, and it was surprising to see with what 
apparent ease our Indian took the heaviest, weighing at least 160 lbs., 
and with a dog-trot bore it the whole distance, stopping only once. The 
boat rests upon a- yoke, similar to tliose which water-carriers use in some 
countries, fitted to the neck and shoulders, and it is thus borne with the 
ease of the coracle. 

At the head of the rapids we met acquaintances — two clergymen in 
hunting costume — and after exchanging salutations, we voyaged on six 
miles, to the foot of Long Lake, through Avhich the Eaquette flows, like 
the Rhone through Lake Geneva. This was called by the Indians Inca- 
pali-chow^ or Linden Sea, because the forests upon its shores abounded 
with the bass-wood or American linden. As we entered that beautiful 
sheet of water, a scene of indescribable beauty opened upon the vision. 
The sun was yet a little above the western hills, whose long shadows 
lay across the wooded intervals. Before us was the lake, calm and trans- 
lucent as a mirror, its entire length of thirteen miles in view, except 
where broken by island^ the more distant appearing shadowy in the 
purple light. The lofty mountain ranges on both sides stretched away 
into the blue distance, and the slopes of one, and the peak of another, 
were smoking like volcanoes, the timber being on fire. N'ear us the 
groves upon the headlands, solitary trees, rich shrubbery, graceful rushes, 
the clustering moose-head and water-lily, and the gorgeous cloud-pictures, 
were perfectly reflected, and produced a scene such as the mortal eye 
seldom beholds. The sun weut down, the vision faded ; and, sweeping 
around a long, marshy point, we drew our boats upon a pebbly shore at 



* This is the account of the origiu of its name, given by the French Jesuits who first explored that 
region. Otliers say that its Indian name, Ni-ha-na-wa-te, means a racket, or noise — noisy river, and 
spell it liacket. But it is no more noisy than its near neigliboiu', the Grass River which flows into the 
St. Lawrence from the bosom of the same wilderness. 



12 



THE HUDSON. 



twilight, at the foot of a pine-bluff, and proceeded to erect a camp for the 
night. No human habitation was near, excepting the bark cabin of 
Bowcn, the " Hermit of Long Lake," wliose history we have not space to 
record. 

Our camp was soon constructed. The g-uides selected a pleasant spot 
near the foot of a lofty pine, placed two erotched sticks perpendicularly 
in the ground, about eight feet apart, laid a stout pole horizontally across 




CAJIP UELEXA. 



them, placed others against it in position like the rafters of half a roof, 
one end upon the ground, and covered the whole and both sides with the 
boughs of the hemlock and pine, leaving the front open. The ground 
was then strewn with the delicate sprays of the hemlock and balsam, 
making a sweet and pleasant bed. A few feet from the front they built 
a huge fire, and prepared supper, which consisted of broiled partridges 



THE HUDSON. 



13 



(that were shot on the shores of the Eaquette by one of the guides), 
bread and butter, tea and maple sugar. We supped by the light of a 
birch-bark torch, fastened to a tall stick. At the close of a moonlight 
evening, our fire burning brightly, we retired for the night, wrapped in 
blanket shawls, our satchels and their contents serving for pillows, our 
heads at the back part of the "camp," and our feet to the fire. The 
guides lying near, kept the wood blazing throughout the night. We 
named the place Cam}) Helena, in compliment to the lady of our party. 

The morning dawned gloriously, aud at an early hour we proceeded up 
the Inca-pah-chow, in the face of a stiff breeze, ten miles to the mouth of 
a clear stream, that came down from one of the burning mountains which 
we saw the evening before. A walk of half a mile brought us to quite 
an extensive clearing, and Houghton's house of entertainment. There 
we dismissed our Saranac guides, and despatched on horseback the one 
who had joined us on the Spectacle 
Ponds to the home of Mitchell Sabattis, 
a St. Francis Indian, eighteen miles 
distant, to procure his services for 
our tour to the head waters of the 
Hudson. Sabattis was by far the 
best man in all that region to lead 
the traveller to the Hudson waters, 
aud the Adirondack Mountains, for 
he had lived in that neighbourhood 
from his youth, and was then between 
thirty and forty years of age. He 
was a grandson of Sabattis mentioned 
in history, who, with Natanis, be- 
friended Colonel Benedict Arnold, svBAins. 
while on his march through the wilderness from the Kennebeck to the 
Chaudiere, in the autumn of 1775, to attack Quebec. Much to our 
delight and relief, Sabattis returned with our messenger, for the demand 
for good guides was so great, that we were fearful he might be absent on 
duty with others. 

Thick clouds came rolling over the mountains from the south at 




14 



THE HUDSON. 



evening, presaging a storm, and the night fell intensely dark. The 
burning hill above us presented a magnificent appearance in the gloom. 
The fire was in broken points over a surface of half a mile, near the 
summit, and the appearance was like a city upon the lofty slope, 
brilliantly illuminated. It was sad to see the fire sweeping away whole 
acres of fine timber. But such scenes are frequent in that region, and 
every bald and blackened hill-top in the ranges is the record of a 
conflagration. 

We were detained at Houghton's the following day by a heavy rain. 
On the morning after, the clouds drifted away early, and with our new 
and excellent guides, Mitchell Sabattis and "William Preston, we Avent 

down the lake eight miles, 
and landed at a " carry " — as 
the portages are called — on 
its eastern shore, within half 
a mile of Hendrick Spring 
(so named in honour of Hen- 
drick Hudson), the most re- 
mote source of the extreme 
western branch of our noble 
river. To reach water navig- 
able witli our boats, we were 
compelled to walk through 
forest and swamp about two 
miles. That was our first 
really fatiguing journey on 
foot, for to facilitate the pas- 
sage, we each carried as much luggage as possible. 

"We found Hendrick Spring in the edge of a swamp— cold, shallow, 
about five feet in diameter, shaded by trees, shrubbery, and vines, and 
fringed with the delicate brake and fern. Its waters, rising within half 
a mile of Long Lake, and upon the same summit level, flow southward to 
the Atlantic more than three hundred miles ; while those of the latter 
flow to the St. Lawrence, and reach the same Atlantic a thousand miles 
away to the far north-east. A few years ago. Professor G. "W. Benedict 




HEI<DEICK SPEINCt. 



THE HUDSON. 



15 



(who was connected with the State Geological Survey) attempted to unite 
these waters hy a canal, for lumhering purposes, hut the enterprise was 
ahandoned. "We followed the ditch that he had cut through the swamp 
nearly half a mile, among tall rospherry bushes, laden with delicious 
fruit, and for another half mile we made our way over the most difficult 
ground imaginable. Dead trees were lying in every direction, some 
charred, others pi;onc with black ragged roots, and all entangled in 
shrubherv and vines. Through this labyrinth our guides carried their 




boats, and we quite heavy packs, but all were compelled to rest every 
few minutes, for the sun was shining hotly upon us. We were nearly 
an hour travelling that half mile. Thoroughly wearied, we entered one 
of the boats at the first navigable point on Spring Brook, that flows from 
the Hendi'ick source, and rowed leisurely down to Fountain Lake, while 



16 



THE HUDSON. 



our guides returned for the remainder of the luggage and provisions. 
The passage of that portage consumed four hours. 

Fountain Lake is the first collection of the waters of the -west branch 
of the Hudson. It is about two miles in circumference, with highly 
picturesque shores. It empties into Catlin Lake through a shallow, 
stony outlet. From both of these we had fine views of the near Santanoni 
Mountains, and the more distant ranges of Mount Seward, on the east. 
At the foot of Fountain Lake is another " carry " of a mile. A few rods 
down its outlet, where we crossed, wc found the remains of a dam and 




sluice, erected by Professor Benedict, to raise the waters so as to flow 
through his canal into Long Lake, and for another purpose, which will 
be explained presently. The sun went down while we were crossing this 
portage, and finding a good place for a camp on the margin of a cold 
mountain stream in the deep forest, we concluded to remain there during 
the night. Our guides soon constructed a shelter with an inverted boat, 
poles, and boughs, and we all slept soundly, after a day of excessive toil. 
In the morning avc embarked upon the beautiful Catlin Lake, and 
rowed to its outlet — three miles. After walking a few rods over 



THE HUDSON. 



17 



boulders, while our guides dragged the boats through a narrow channel 
between them, we re-embarked upon Narrow Lake, and passed through 
it and Lilypad Pond — a mile and a half — to another "carry" of three- 
fourths of a mile, which brought us to the junction of the Hudson and 
Fishing Brook. This was a dreary region, and yet highly picturesque. 
It was now about noon. Sabattis informed us that, a little way up the 
Fishing Brook, were a clearing and a saw-mill — the first on the Hudson. 




ON THE HUDSON. 



Wo walked about half a mile through the woods to see them. Emerging 
from the forest, we came to a field filled with boulders and blackened 
stumps, and, from the summit of a hill, we overlooked an extensive 
rolling valley, heavily timbered, stretching westward to the Windfall 
Mountains, and at our feet were the Clearing and the Saw-mill. The 
latter stood at the head of a deep rocky gorge, down which great logs are 
sent at high water. The clearing was too recent to allow much fruit of 
tillage, but preparations were made for farming, in the erection of a good 
frame dwelling and outhouses. The head waters of this considerable 
tributary of the Upper Hudson is Pickwaket Pond, four miles above the 
mill. 



18 



THE HUDSON. 



A short distance below the confluence of the Hudson and Fishing 
Brook, we cntercel Eich's Lake, an irregular sheet of water, about two 
miles and a half in length, with surroundings more picturesque, in some 




l-IRST SAW->riI,I, OS THK HUDSON. 



respects, than any we had visited. Eroni its southern shore Goodenow 
Mountain rises to an altitude of about fifteen hundred feet, crowned by a 
rocky knob. Near the foot of the lake is a wooded peninsula, whose low 
isthmus, being covered at high water, leave.T it an island. It is called 
Elephant Island, because of the singular resemblance of some of the lime- 



THE HUDSON. 



19 



stone formation that composes its bold shore to portions of that animal. 
The whole rock is perforated into singularly-formed caves. This, and 




ELEPHANT ISLAND. 



another similar shore a few miles below, were the only deposits of lime- 
stone that we saw in all that region. 

At the outlet of Rich's Lake were the ruins of a dam and lumber 




LUMBER DAM AND SLUICE 



sluicj, similar in construction and intended use to that of Professor 
Benedict at Fountain Lake. The object of such structures, which occur 



20 



THE HUDSON. 



on the Upper Hudson, is to gather the logs that float from above, and 
then, by letting out the accumulated waters by the sluice,* give a flood to 
the shallow, rocky outlets, sufficient to carry them all into the next lake 
below, where the process is repeated. These logs of pine, hemlock, 
cedar, and spruce, are cut upon the borders of the streams, marked on 
the ends by a single blow with a hammer, on the face of which is the 
monogram of the owner, and then cast into the waters to be gathered and 
claimed perhaps at the great boom near Glen's Falls, a hundred miles 
below. We shall again refer to this process of collecting lumber from 
the mountains. 



i^T^rL 






^M^ 



CHAPTER II. 




^N the old settlement of Pendleton, in the town of 
Newcomb, Essex County, we spent our second 
Sabbath. ' That settlement is between the 
head of Eich's Lake and the foot of Harris's 
Lake, a distance of five or six miles along their 
*^^ southern shores. It derives its name from 
Judge Nathaniel Pendleton, who, about fifty 
years ago, made a clearing there, and built a 
and grist, and saw-mill at the foot of Eich's 
where the lumber dam and sluice, before men- 
tioned, weie afterwards made. Here was the home of 
babattis, oui Indian guide, who owned two hundred and 
forty acres of land, with good improvements. His wife was 
a fair German Avomau, mother of several children, unmistakably 

marked with Indian blood. 

It was Friday night when we arrived at the thrifty Pendleton settle- 
ment, and we resolved to spend the Sabbath there. "We found excellent 
accommodation at the farmhouse of Daniel Bissell, and, giving Preston a 
furlough for two days to visit his lately-married wife at his home, nine 
miles distant, we all wont in a single boat the next day, manned by 
Sabattis alone, to visit Harris's Lake, and the confluence of its outlet 
with the Adirondack branch of the Hudson, three miles below Bissell' s. 
That lake is a beautiful sheet of water, and along the dark, sluggish 
river, above the rapids at its head, we saw the cardinal flower upon the 
banks, and the rich moose-head ••' in the water, in great abundance. 



* This, in the books, is called Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata of LiniiiEUs), but Ihe guides call it 
moose-head. The stem is stout and cylindrical, and bears a spear-shaped leaf, somewhat cordate at the 
base. The flowers, which appear in July and August, are composed of dense spikes, of a rich blue 
colour. A picture of the moose-head is seen in the water beneath the initial letter at the head of 
Chapter I. 



22 



THE HUDSON. 



The rapids at the head of Harris's Lake arc very picturesque. Look- 
ing up from them, Goodenow Mountain is seen in the distance, and still 
more remote arc glimpses of the "Windfall range. "We passed the rapids 
upon boulders, and then voyaged down to the confluence of the two 
streams just mentioned. From a rough rocky bluff a mile below that 
point, we obtained a distant view of three of the higher peaks of the 
Adirondacks — Tahawus or Mount Marcy, Mount Golden, and Mount 
M'Intyre. We returned at ' evening beneath a canopy of magnificent 
clouds ; aud that night was made strangely luminous by one of the most 




HVllUo Ar IHL HEAD OF H\RK1S'S LAKE. 



splendid displays of the Aurora Eorcalis ever seen upon the continent. 
It was observed as far south as Charleston, in South Carolina. 

Sabattis is itn active Methodist, and at his request (their minister not 
having arrived) Mr. Buckingham read the beautiful liturgy of the Church 
of England on Sunday morning to a congregation of thirty or forty people, 
in the school-house on our guide's farm. In the afternoon we attended 
a prayer-meeting at the same place ; and early the next morning, while 
a storm of wind and heavy mist was sweeping over the country, started 
with our two guides, in a lumber waggon, for the Adirondack Mountains. 
"Wc now left our boats, in which and on foot we had travelled, from the 



THE HUDSON. 



23 



lower Saranac to Harris's Lake, more than seventy miles. It was a 
tedious journey of twenty-six miles, most of the way over a "corduroy" 
road — a causeway of logs. On the way we passed the confluence of Lake 
Delia with the Adirondack branch of the Hudson, reached M'Intyre's Inn 
(Tahawus House, at the foot of Sandford Lake) toward noon, and at two 
o'clock were at the little deserted village at the Adirondack Iron Works, 
between Sandford and Henderson Lakes. "We passed near the margin of 
the former a large portion of the way. It is a beautiful body of water, 
nine miles long, with several little islands. From the road along its 




INDFORD LAKE. 



shores we had a fine view of the three great mountain peaks just 
mentioned, and of the Wall-face Mountain at the Indian Pass. At the 
house of Mr. Hunter, the only inhabitant of the deserted village, we 
dined, and then prepared to ascend the Great Tahawus, or Sky-piercer. 

The little deserted village of Adirondack, or M'Intyre, nestled in a 
rocky valley upon the Upper Hudson, at the foot of the principal moun- 
tain barrier which rises between its sources and those of the Au Sable, 
and in the bosom of an almost unbroken forest, appeared cheerful to us 
weary wanderers, although smoke was to be seen from only a solitary 



24 THE HUDSON. 



chimney. The hamlet — consisting of sixteen dwelling-houses, furnaces, 
and other edifices, and a building with a cupola, used for a school and 
public worship — was the offspring of enterprise and capital, which many 
years before had combined to develop the mineral wealth of that region. 
That wealth was still there, and almost untouched— for enterprise and 
capital, compelled to contend with geographical and topographical 
impediments, have abandoned their unprofitable application of labour, 
and left the rich iron ores, apparently exhaustless in quantity, to be 
quan-ied and transformed in the not far-off future. 

The ores of that vicinity had never been revealed to the eye of civilised 
man until the year 1826, when David Henderson, a young Scotchman, of 
Jersey City, opposite I^ew York, while standing near the iron-works of 
his father-in-law, Archibald M'lntyre, at North Elba, in Essex County, 
was approached by a St. Francis Indian, known in all that region as a 
brave and skilful hunter — honest, intelligent, and, like all his race, 
taciturn. The Indian took from beneath his blanket a piece of iron ore, 
and handed it to Henderson, saying, "You want to see 'um ore? Me 
fine plenty — all same." When asked where it came from, he pointed 
toward the south-west, and said, "Me himt beaver all 'lone, and fine 
'um where water run over iron-dam." An exploring party was 
immediately formed, and followed the Indian into the deep forest. They 
slept that night at the base of the towering cliff of the Indian Pass. 
The next day they reached the head of a beautiful lake, which they 
named " Henderson," and followed its outlet to the site of Adirondack 
village. There, in a deep-shaded valley, they beheld with wonder the 
"iron dam," or dyke of iron ore, stretched across a stream, which was 
afterward found to be one of the main branches of the Upper Hudson. 
They at once explored the vicinity, and discovered that this dyke was 
connected with vast deposits of ore, which formed rocky ledges on the 
sides of the narrow valley, and presented beds of metal adequate, appa- 
rently, to the supply of the world's demand for centuries. It is believed 
that the revealer of this wealth was Peter Sabattis, the father of our 
Indian guide. 

The explorers perceived that all around that vast deposit of wealth in 
the earth was an abundant supply of hard wood, and other necessary 



THE HUDSON. 



ingredients for the manufacture of iron ; and, notwithstanding it was 
thirty miles from any highway on land or water, with an uninterrupted 
sweep of forest between, and more than a hundred miles from any market, 
the entire mineral region — comprising more than a whole township — was 
purchased, and preparations were soon made to develop its resources. A 
pnrtnei'ship Avas formed between Archibald M'lntyre, Archibald Eobert- 




''r'^V)",''*kftl^&c 



Tin; inoN p\^[. 



son, and David Henderson, all related by marriage ; and^Avith slight aid 
from the State, they constructed a road through the wilderness, from the 
Siarron [Schroon] Yalley, near Lake Champlain, to the foot of Sandford 
Lake, halfway between the head of which and the beautiful Henderson 
Lake Avas the " iron dam." There a settlement was commenced in 1834. 
A timber dam was constructed upon the iron one, to increase the fall of 
water, and an experimental furnace was built. Rare and most valuable 

E 



THE HUDSON. 



iron was produced, equal to any from the best Swedish furnaces ; and it 
was afterward found to be capable of being wrought into steel equal to 
the best imported from England. 

The proprietors procured an act of incorporation, under the title of the 
''Adirondack Iron and Steel Company," with a capital, at first, of 
$1,000,000 (£200,000), afterward increased to !il;3,000,000 (£600,000), 
and constructed another furnace, a forge, stamping-mill, saw and grist 
mill, machine-shops, powder-house, dwellings, boarding-house, school- 
house, barns, sheds, and kilns for the manufacture of charcoal. At the 
foot of Sandford Lake, eleven miles south from Adirondack village, they 
also commenced a settlement, and named it Tahawus, where thev erected 




AniROHnACK MLLACtF 

a dam seventeen hundred feet in length, a saw-mill, >\arehouses, dwell- 
ings for workmen, &c. And in 1854 they completed a blast furnace near 
the upper village, at the head of Sandford Lake, at an expense of 
$43,000 (£8, GOO), capable of producing fourteen tons of iron a-day. 
They also built six heavy boats upon Sandford Lake, for the transportation 
of freight, and roads at an expense of §10,000 (£2,000). Altogether 
the proprietors spent nearly half a million of dollars, or £100,000, 

Meanwhile the project of a railway from Saratoga to Sackett's Harbour, 
on Lake \ Ontario, to bisect the great wilderness, was conceived. A 
company was formed, and forty miles of the road were put under contract, 
and actually graded. It would pass within a few miles of the Adirondack 



THE HUDSON. 



Works, aucl it was estimated that, with a connecting branch road, the 
iron might be conveyed to Albany for two dollars a ton, and compete 
profitably witli other iron in the market. A plank road was also 
projected from Adirondack \-illagc to Preston Pouds, and down the Cold 
Eiver to the Eaquette, at the foot of Long Lake. 

But the labour on the road was suspended, the iron interest of the 
United States became depressed, the Adirondack Works were rendered 
not only unprofitable, but the source of heavy losses to the owners, .and 
for five years their fires had been extinguished. In August, 1856, heavy 
rains in the mountains sent roaring floods down the ravines, and the 
Hudson, only a brook when we were there, was swelled to a mighty 
river. An upper dam at Adirondack gave way, and a new channel for 
the stream was cut, and the great dam at Tahawus, with the saw-mill, 
Avas demolished by the rushing waters. All was left a desolation. Over 
scores of acres at the head and- foot of Handford Lake (overflowed when 
the dam was constructed) we saw white skeletons of trees which had been 
killed by the flood, standing thickly, and heightening the dreary aspect 
of the scene. The workmen liad all departed from Adirondack, and only 
llobert Hunter and his family, who had charge of the property, remained. 
The original proprietors were all dead, and the property, intrinsically 
valuable but immediately unproductive, was in the possession of their 
respective families. But the projected railway will yet be constructed, 
because it is needful for the develop :;icnt and use of that immense mineral 
and timber region, and again that forest village will be vivified, and the 
echoes of the deep l)reathings of its furnaces will be heard in the neigh- 
bouring mountains. 

At Mr. Hunter's Ave prepared for the rougher travel on foot through 
the mountain forests to Tahawus, ten miles distant. Here we may 
properly instruct the expectant tourist in this region in regard to such 
preparation. Every arrangement should be as simple as possible. A 
man needs only a stout flannel hunting shii-t, coarse and trustworthy 
trousers, woollen stockings, large hea^-y boots well saturated with a com- 
position of beeswax and tallow, a soft felt hat or a cap, and strong buck- 
skin gloves. A Avoman needs a stout flannel dress, over shortened 
crinoline, of short dimensions, with loops and buttons to adjust its length ; 



THE HUDSON. 



a hood and cape of the same material?, made so as to euvelop the head 
and bust, and Icuvc the arms free, woollen stockings, stont calfskin boots 
that cover the legs to the knee, well saturated with beeswax and tallow, 
and an india-rubber satchel for necessary toilet materials. Provisions, 
also, should be simple. Tlie hunters live chiefly on bread or crackers. 




DEl'AUTfKE FOK TAUAWLS. 



and maple sugar. The usual preparation is a sufficient stock of Eoston 
crackers, pilot-bread, or common loaf-bread, butter, tea or coffee, pepper 
and salt, an ample quantity of maple sugar,--' and some salted pork, to use 
in frying or broiling fish, birds, and game. The utensils for cooking are 
a short-handled frying-pan, a broad and shallow tin pan, tin tea or coffee- 



* Tlie h-M\\, or Sugar Maple (Acer saccharinum), abounds in all parts of the State of New York. It 
is a beautiful tree, often found from fifty to eighty feet in height, and the trnnk from two to three feet 
in diameter. From the sap, which flows abundantly in the f>pring, delicious sj-rup and excellent sugar 
are made. In the Upper Hudson region, the sap is procured by making a smaU incision with an axe, or 
a hole with an augur, into the body of the tree, into which a small tube or gutter is fttstened. From 
thence the sap flows, and is caught in rough trouglis, dug out of small logs. [See the initial letter at the 
liead of Chapter HI.] It is collected into tubs, and boiled in caldron kettles. The syrup remains in 
buckets from twelve to twenty-four hours, and settles before straining. To make sugar it is boiled 
carefully over a slow fire. To cleanse it, the white of one egg, and one gill of milk, are used for every 
30 lbs. or 40 lbs. of sugav. Some settlers manufacture a considerable (quantity of sugar everj' year, as 
much as from 300 lbs. tj 6U01bs. 



THE HUDSON. 



29 



pot, tiu plates and cups, knives, forks, and spoons. These, with sha-\vls 
or overcoats, and india-rubber capes to keep off the rain, the guides will 
carry, with gnu, axe, and fishing-tackle. Sportsmen who expect to camp 
out some time, should take with them a light tent. The guides will fish, 
hunt, work, build "camps," and do all other necessary service, for a 
moderate compensation and their food. It is proper here to remark that 
the tourist should never enter this wilderness earlier than the middle of 
August. Then the files and moscpitoes, the intolerable pests of the 
Ibrests, are rapidly disappearing, and fine weather may be expt'cted. The 
sportsman must go in June or July for trout, and in October for deer. 

Well prepared with all necessaries excepting flannel over-shirts, we set 
out from Adirondack on the afternoon of the oOth of August, our guides 




BHIUGE OVEll THE HUDSOX. 



"with their packs leading the way. The morning had been misty, but the 
atmosphere was then clear and cool. We crossed the Hudson three-fourths 
of a mile below Henderson Lake, upon a rude bridge, made our way 
through a clearing tangled with tall raspberry shrubs full of fruit, for 
nearly half a mile, and then entered the deep and solemn forest, composed 
of birch, maple, cedar, hemlock, spruce, and tall pine trees. Our way 
was over a level for three-fourths of a mile, to the outlet of Calamity 
I'ond. We crossed it at a beautiful cascade, and then commenced ascend- 



30 



THE HUDSON. 



ing by a sinuous mountaiu path, across whicli many a huge tree had been 
cast by the wind. It was a weary journey of almost four miles (notwith- 
standing it lay along the track of a lane cut through the forest a few 
years ago for a special purpose, of which we shall presently speak), for in 
many places the soil was hidden by boulders covered with thick moss, 
over which we Avere compelled to climb. Towards sunset we reached a 
ideasant little lake, embosomed in the dense forest, its low wet margin 
fringed with brilliant yellow tiowers, beautiful in form but Avithout 
perfume. At the head of that little lake, Avhere the inlet comes flowing 




U, 



^''^*4:.^v>/, /;,,^r^f:i^-* 



J ARK CABIN AT C'.U-AM[TY P0> 



sluggishly fruni a dark ravine scooped from tlie mountain 4ope, we built 
a bark cabin, and encamped for the night. 

That tiny lake is called Calamity Pond, iu commemoration of a b-ad 
circumstance that occurred near the spot where we erected our cabin, in 
September, 1845. Mr. Henderson, of the Adirondack Iron Companj-, 
already mentioned, was there with his son and other attendants. Kear 
the margin of the inlet is a flat I'ock. On this, as he landed from a scow, 
Mr. Henderson attempted to lay his pistol, holding the muzzle in his 
hand. It discharged, and the contents entering his body, wounded him 
mortally : he lived only half-an-hour. A rude bier Avas constructed of 



THE HUDSON. 31 



boughs, on which his body "was carried to Adirondack village. It was 
taken down Sandford Lake in a boat to Tahawus, and from thence again 
carried on a bier through the wilderness, fifteen miles to the western 
termination of the road from Scarron valley, then in process of construc- 
tion. From thence it was conveyed to his home at Jersey City, and a few 
years afterward his family erected an elegant monument upon the rock 
wheio he lost his life. It is of the light jS^ew Jersey sandstone, eight feet 
in height, and l)ears the following inscription: — "This monument was 
erected by filial aftVctioii tn the momorv of Dvvrn HENnF.r.soy, who lost 




itn^¥^ 



HENDERSON'S MOXl^MENl 



his life on this spot, 3rd September, 184-5." Beneath the inscription, in 
high relief, is a chalice, book, and anchor. 

The lane through the woods just mentioned was cut for the purpose of 
allowing the transportation of this monument upon a sledge in winter, 
drawn by oxen. All the way the road was made passable l)y packing 
the snow between the boulders, and in this lal)our several days were con- 
sumed. The monument weighs a ton. 

While Preston and myself Avere building the bark cabin, ia a manner 
similar to the bush one already described, and Mrs. Lossing was preparing 
a place upon the clean grass near the fire for our supper, Mr. Buckingham 
and Sabattis went out upon the lake on a rough raft, and caught over two 



32 THE HUDSON. 



dozen trout. Upon these we supped and breakfasted. The night was 
cold, and at early dawn we found the hoar-frost lying upon every leaf and 
blade around us. Beautiful, indeed, was that dawning of the last day of 
summer. Prom the south-west came a gentle breeze, bearing upon its 
wings light vapour, that flecked the whole sky, and became roseate in hue 
when tlie sun touched with purple light the summit of the hills westward 
of us. These towered in grandeur more than a thousand feet above the 
surface of the lake, from which, in the kindling morning light, went up, 
in myriads of spiral threads, a mist, softly as a spirit, and melted in the 
first sunbeam. 

At eight o'clock we resumed our journey over a much rougher way than 
we had yet travelled, for there was nothing but a dim and obstructed 
hunter's trail to follow. This we pursued nearly two miles, when we 
struck the outlet of Lake Golden, at its confluence with the Opalescent 
Eiver, that comes rushing down in continuous rapids and cascades from 
the foot of Tahawus. The lake was only a few rods distant. Intending 
to visit it on our return, we contented ourselves with brief glimpses of it 
through the trees, and of tall Mount Coldcn, or JNlount M'^Iartin, tliat 
rises in magnificence from its eastern shore. 

The drought that still prevailed over northern Xew York and Xew 
England had so diminished the volume of the Opalescent Kiver, that 
we walked more than four miles in the bed of the stream upon boulders 
which fill it. We crossed it a hundred times or more, picking our way, 
and sometimes compelled to go into the woods in passing a cascade. The 
stream is broken into falls and swift rapids the whole distance that we 
followed it, and, when full, it must present a grand spectacle. At one 
place the river had assumed the bed of a displaced trap dyke, by which 
the rock has been intersected. The walls are perpendicular, and only a 
few feet apart — so near that the branches of the trees on the summits 
interlace. Through this the water rushes for several rods, and then 
leaps into a dark chasm, full fifty feet perpendicular, and emerges 
among a mass of immense boulders. The Indians called this cascade 
She-gwi-en-daivhwe, or the Hanging Spear. A short distance above is a 
wild rapid, which they called Kas-kongshadi, or Broken Water. 

The stones in this river vary in size, from tiny pebbles to boulders 



THE HUDSON. 



33 



of a thousand tons ; the smaller ones made smooth by rolling, the larger 
ones, yet angular and massive, persistently defying the rushing torrent 
in its maddest career. They are composed chiefly of the beautiful 
labradorite, or opalescent feldspar, which form the great mass of the 
A(/anus-chion, or Black Mountain 

range, as the Indians called this i^ ^ ^^^ ^g-^^^" , 

Adirondack group, because of the 
dark aspect which their sombre 
cedars, and spruce, and cliffs present 
at a distance. The bed of the stream 
is full of that exquisitely beautiful 
mineral. "We saw it glittering in 
splendoui', in pebbles and large 
boulders, when the sunlight fell full 
upon the shallow water. A rich blue 
is the predominant colour, some- 
times mingled with a brilliant 
green. Gold and bronze-coloured 
specimens have been discovered, and, 
occasionally, a completely iridescent 
piece may be found. It is to the 
abundance of these stones that the 
river is indebted for its beautiful 
name. It is one of the main sources 
of the Hudson, and falls into Sand- 
ford Lake, a few miles below 
Adirondack village. 

"We followed the Opalescent River 
to the foot of the Peak of Tahawus, 
on the borders of the high valley 

which separates that mountain from Mount Golden, at an elevation nine 
hundred feet above the highest peaks of the Cattskill range on the Lower 
Hudson. There the water is very cold, the forest trees are somewhat 
stunted and thickly planted, and the solitude complete. The silence was 
almost oppressive. Game-birds and beasts of the chase are there almost 

F 




'ALL IN THE OP.\LESCENT EIVEB. 



34 



THE HUDSON. 



unknown. Tlie wild cat and wolreriue alone prowl over that lofty valley, 
where rises one of the chief fountains of the Hudson, and we hoard the 
voice of no living creature excepting the hoarse croak of the raven. 

It was noon when we reached this point of departure for the summit of 
Tahawus. We had been four hours travelling six miles, and yet in that 
pure mountain air we felt very little fatigue. There we found an 
excellent bark -'camp," and traces of recent occupation. Among them 




"^a^^^^ '■'^^' '^ 'S V'"'^ 



CI.TMDIXG TAIIAWI f. 



was part of a metropolitan newspaper, and light ashes. "We dined upon 
bread and butter and maple sugar, in a sunny spot in front of the cabin, 
and then commenced the ascent, lea\ang our provisions and other things 
at the camp, where we intended to repose for the night. The journey 
upward was two miles, at an angle of forty-five degrees to the base of the 
rocky pinnacle. "We had no path to follow. The guides "blazed" the 
larger trees (striking off chips with their axes), that they might with 
more ease find their way back to the camp. Almost the entire surface 



THE HUDSON. 



35 



was covered witli Loulders, shrouded in the most beautiful alpiue mosses. 
Prom among these shot up dwarfing pines and spruces, which diminished 
in height at every step. Through their thick horizontal branches it was 
difficult to pass. Here and there among the rocks was a free spot, where 
the bright trifoliolate oxalis, or wood-sorrel, flourished, and the shrub of 
the wild curi'ant, and gooseberry, and the tree-cranberry appeared. At 
length we reached the foot of the open rocky pinnacle, where only thick 
mosses, lichens, a few alpine plants, and little groves of dwarfed balsam, 
are seen. The latter trees, not more than five feet in height, arc, most of 
them, centenarians. Their stems, not larger than a strong man's wrist, 
exhibited, when cut, over one hun- 
dred concentric rings, each of which 

indicates the growth of a year. Our ' , -Si 

journey now became still more diffi- 
cult, at the same time more interest- 
ing, for, as we emerged from the 
forest, the magnificent panorama of 
mountains that lay around us burst 
upon the vision. Along steep rocky 
slopes and ledges, and around and 
beneath huge stones a thousand tons 
in weight, some of them apparently 
poised, as if ready for a sweep down 
the mountain, we made our way 
cautiously, having at times no other 
support than the strong moss, and 
occasionally a gnarled shrub that 
sprung from the infrequent fissures, 
where the dwarf balsams grow. Upon one of these, within a hundred 
feet of the summit, we found a spring of very cold water, and near it 
quite thick ice. This spring is one of the remote sources of the Hudson. 
It bubbles from the base of a huge mass of loose rocks (which, like all 
the other portions of the peak, are composed of the beautiful labrado- 
rite), and sends down a little stream into the Opalescent Eiver, from 
whose bed we had just ascended. Mr. Buckingham had now gained 




SPRING ON THE PEAK OF TAHAWUS. 



"We rested 



upon 



small terraces, 



30 THE HUDSON. 



tlie summit, and waved his hat, iu token of triumph, and a few minutes 
later we were at his side, forgetful, in the exhilaration of the moment, 
of every fatigue and danger that we had encountered. Indeed it was a 
triumph for us all, for few persons have ever attempted the ascent of that 
mountain, lying in a deep wilderness, hard to penetrate, the nearest point 
of even a bridle path, on the side of our approach, being ten miles from 
the base of its peak. Especially difficult is it for the feet of woman to 
reach the lofty summit of the Sky-piercer — almost six thousand feet 
above the sea — for her skirts form great impediments. Mrs. Lossing, we 
were afterwards informed by the oldest hunter and guide in all that 




HOSPICE ON THE PEAK OF TAHAWUS. 

region (John Cheney), is only the third woman who has ever accomplished 
the difficult feat. 

The summit of Tahawus is bare rock, about four hundred feet in length 
and one hundred in breadth, with an elevation of ten or twelve feet at 
the south-western end, that may be compared to the heel of an upturned 
boot, the remainder of the surface forming the sole. In a nook on the 
southern side of this heel, was a small hut, made of loose stones gathered 
from the summit, and covered with moss. It was erected the previous 
year by persons from ]S"ew York, and had been occupied by others a fort- 



THE HUDSON. 



night before our yisit. Within the hnt we found a piece of paper, on 
which was written : — " This hospice, erected by a party from New York, 
August 19, 1858, is intended for the use and comfort of visitors to 
Tahawus.— r. S. P.— M. C— F. M. N." Under this was written :— 
" This hospice was occupied over night of August 14, 1859, by A. G. C. 
and T. E. D. Sun rose fourteen minutes to five." Under this : — 
'< Tahawus House Eegistee, August 14, 1859, Alfred G. Compton, and 
Theodore E. Davis, New York. August 16, Charles Newman, Stamford, 
Connecticut; Charles Bedfield, Elizabeth Town, 'New York." To these 
we added our own names, and those of the guides. 

Our view from the summit of Tahawus will ever form one of the most 
remarkable pictures in memory ; and yet it may not properly be called a 
picture. It is a topographical map, exhibiting a surface diversified by 
mountains, lakes, and valleys. The day was very pleasant, yet a cold 
north-westerly wind was sweeping over the summit of the mountain. A 
few clouds, sufficient to cast fine shadows upon the earth, were floating 
not far above us, and on the east, when we approached the summit at 
three o'clock, an iridescent mist was slightly veiling a group of mountains, 
from their thick wooded bases in the valleys, to their bold rocky summits. 
Our stand-point being the highest in all that region, there was nothing 
to obstruct the view. To-war-loon-dah, or Hill of Storms (Mount 
Emmons), Ou-kor-lah, or Big Eye (Mount Seward), Wah-o-par-te-nie, or 
White-face Mountain, and the Giant of the Valley — all rose peerless above 
the other hills around us, excepting Coldcn and M'Intyre, that stood 
apparently within trumpet-call of Tahawus, as fitting companions, but 
over whose summits, likewise, we could look away to the dark forests of 
Franklin and St. Lawrence Counties, in the far north-west. Northward 
we could see the hills melting into the great St. Lawrence level, out of 
which arose the Eoyal Mountain back of the city of Montreal. Eastward, 
full sixty miles distant, lay the magnificent Green Mountains, that give 
name to the state of Ycrmont, and through a depression of that range, 
we saw distinctly the great Mount AYashington among the AVhite Hills 
of New Hampshire, one hundred and fifty miles distant. Southward the 
view was bounded by the higher peaks of the Cattskills, or Katzbergs, 
and westward by the mountain ranges in Hamilton and Herkimer 



38 



THE HUDSON. 



Counties. At our feet reposed the great wilderness of northern New 
York, full a hundred miles in length, and eighty in hreadth, lying in parts 
of seven counties, and equal in area to several separate smaller States of 
the Union. On every side bright lakes were gleaming, some nestling in 
unbroken forests, and others with their shores sparsely dotted with clear- 
ings, from which arose the smoke from the settler's cabin. We counted 
twenty-seven lakes, including Champlain — the Indian Can-i-a-de-ri Gua- 
rim-te, or Door of the Country — which stretched along the eastern view 
one hundred and forty miles, and at a distance of about fifty miles at tlie 
nearest point. We could see the sails of water-craft like white specks 
upon its bosom, and, with our telescope, could distinctly discern the 
houses in Burlington, on the eastern shore of the lake. 

From our point of view we could comprehend the emphatic significance 
of the Indian idea of Lake Champlain — the Boor of the Coimtry. It fills 
the bottom of an immense valley, that stretches southward between the 
great mountain ranges of New York and New England, from the 
St. Lawi ence level toward the valley of the Hudson, from which it is 
separated by a slightly elevated ridge. '^•- To tlie fierce Huron of Canada, 
who loved to make war upon the more southern Iroquois, this lake was a 
wide open door for his passage. Through it many brave men, aborigines 
and Europeans, have gone to the war-paths of New York and New 
England, never to return. 

Standing upon Tahawus, it required very little exercise of the imagi- 
nation to behold the stately procession of historic men and events, passing 
through that open door. First in dim shadows were the dusky warriors 



* In the introduction to hia published semion, preached at r'l3-moutli, in New England, in tlie year 
1621 (and the first ever preached there), the Rev. Robert Cushraan, speaking of that country, says :— 
"So far as we can find, it is an island, and near about the quantity of England, being cut out from the 
mainland in America, as England is from the main of Europe, by a great ami of the sea [Hudson's 
River], which entereth in forty degrees, and runnetli up norlh-west and by west, and goeth out, either 
into the South Sea [Pacific Ocean], or else into the Bay of Canada [the Gulf of St. Lawrence]." The 
old divine was nearly right in his conjecture that New England was an island. It is a peninsula, 
connected to tlie main by a very narrow isthmus, the extremities of wliich are at the villages of 
Whitehall, on Lalce Champlain, and Fort Edward, on the Hudson, about twenty-five miles apart. The 
lowest portion of that isthmus is not more tlian fifty feet above Lake Champlain, whose waters are only 
ninety above the sea. This istlimus is made still narrower by the waters of Wood Creek, which flow 
into Lake Champlain, and of Fort Edward Creek, wliich empty into the Hudson. These are navigable 
for light canoes, at some seasons of the year, to within a mile and a-half of each other. The canal, 
which now connects the Hudson and Lake Champlain, really makes New England an island. 



THE HUDSON. 39 



of the aute-ColuniLiau period, darting swiftly through ia thoir baik 
canoes, intent upon blood and plunder. Then came Champlain and his 
men [1609], with guns and sabres, to aid the Hurons in contests "with 
the Adirondacks and other Iroquois at Crown Point and Ticonderoga. 
Then came French and Indian allies, led by Marin [1745], passing 
swiftly through that door, and sweeping with terrible force down the 
Hudson valley to Saratoga, to smite the Dutch and English settlers there. 
Again French and Indian warriors came, led by Montcalm, Dieskau, and 
others [1755-1759], to drive the English from that door, and secure it 
for the house of Bourbon. A little later came troops of several 
nationalities, with Burgoyne at their head [1777], rushing through that 
door with power, driving \imerican republicans southward, like chaff 
before the wind, and sweeping victoriously down the valley of the Hudson 
to Saratoga and beyond. And, lastly, came another British force, with 
Sir George Prevost at their head [1814], to take possession of that door, 
but were turned back at the northern threshold with discomfiture. In 
the peaceful present that door stands wide open, and people of all nations 
may pass through it unquestioned. But the Indian is seldom seen at the 
portal. 



i^^#^^ 



CHAPTER III. 




'he cold increased every moment as the sun declined, 
and, after remaining on the summit of Tahawus 
only an hour, we descended to the Opalescent 
River, where we encamped for the night. To- 
ward morning there was a rain-shower, and the 
water came trickling upon us through the light 
bark roof of our " camp." But the clouds broke 
at sunrise, and, excepting a copious shower of 
small hail, and one or two of light rain, we had 
pleasant weather the remainder of the day. We de- 
scended the Opalescent in its rocky bed, as we went up, 
and at noon dined on the margin of Lake Golden, just 
after a slight shower had passed by. 

"We were now at an elevation of almost three thousand 
feet above tide water. In lakes Golden and Avalanche, which lie close 
to each other, there are no fishes. Only lizards and leeches occupy 
their cold waters. All is silent and solitary there. The bald eagle 
sweeps over them occasionally, or perches upon a lofty pine, but the 
mournful voice of the Great Loon, or Diver ( Colymhus glacialis), heard 
over all the waters of northern New York and Ganada, never awakens 
the echoes of these solitary lakes.* These waters lie in a high basin 
between the Mount Golden and Mount M'Intyre ranges, and have 
experienced great changes. Avalanche Lake, evidently once a part of 
Lake Golden, is about eighty feet higher than the latter, and more than 
two miles from it. They have been separated by, perhaps, a scries of 
avalanches, or mountain slides, which still occur in that region. From 



* Tlie water view 
in the distance. 



the picture of tlie Loon is a scene on Harris's Lake, with Goodenow Mountain 



THE HUDSON. 



41 



the top of Tahawus we saw the white glare of several, striping the sides 
of mountain cones. 

At three o'clock Ave reached our camp at Calamity Pond, and just 
before sunset emerged from the forest into the open fields near Adiron- 
dack village, where we regaled ourselves with the bountiful fruitage of 
the raspberry shrub. At Mr. Hunter's we found kind and generous 
entertainment, and at an early hour the next morning we started for the 
great Indian Pass, four miles distant. 

Half a mile from Henderson Lake we crossed its outlet upon a pictu- 
resque bridge, and following a causeway another half a mile through a 




clearing, we penetrated the forest, and struck one of the chief branches 
of the Upper Hudson, that comes from the rocky chasms of that Pass. 
Our journey was much more difficult than to Tahawus. The under- 
growth of the forest was more dense, and trees more frequently lay 
athwart the dim trail. We crossed the stream several times, and, as we 
ascended, the valley narrowed until we entered the rocky gorge between 
the steep slopes of Mount M'Intyre and the cliifs of Wall-face Mountain. 
There we encountered enormous masses of rocks, some worn by the 
abrasion of the elements, some angular, some bare, and some covered 
with moss, and many of them bearing large trees, whose roots, clasping 



42 



THE HUDSON. 



them on all sides, strike into the earth for sustenance. One of the 
masses presented a singular appearance ; it is of cubic form, its summit 
full thirty feet from its base, and upon it was quite a grove of hemlock 
and cedar trees. Around and partly under this and others lying loosely, 
apparently kept from rolling by roots and vines, we were compelled to 
clamber a long distance, when we reached a point more than one hundred 





AKE COLDKK. 



feet above the bottom of the goi'ge, where we could see the -famous pass 
in all its wild grandeur. Before us arose a perpendicular cliff, nearly 
twelve hundred feet from base to summit, as raw in appearance as if cleft 
only yesterday. Above us sloped M'Intyre, still more lofty than the 
cliff of "Wall-face, and in the gorge lay huge piles of rock, chaotic in 
position, grand in dimensions, and awful in general aspect. They appear 



THE HUDSON. 



43 



to have been cast in there by some terrible convulsion not very remote. 
"Within the memory of Sabattis, this region has been shaken by an earth- 
quake, and no doubt its power, and the lightning, and the frost, have 
hurled these masses from that impending cliff. Through these the 
waters of this branch of the Hudson, bubbling from a spring not far 
distant (close by a fountain of the Au Sable), lind their way. Here the 
head-waters of this river commingle in the Spiing season, and when they 
separate they find their way to the Atlantic Ocean, as we have observed, 




^^'fiPh'S 



OUTLET OF HENDEESOX LAKE. 



at points a thousand miles apart. The margin of the stream is too rugged 
and cavernous in the Pass for human footsteps to follow. 

Just at the lower entrance to the gorge, on the margin of tlie little 
brook, we dined, and then retraced our steps to the village, stopping on 
the way to view the dreary swamp at the head of Henderson Lake, 
where the Hudson, flowing from the Pass, enters it. "Water, and not fire, 
has blasted the trees, and their erect stems and prostrate branches, white 
and ghost-like in appearance, make a. tangled covering over many acres. 

That night we slept soundly again at Mr. Hunter's, and in the morn- 
ing left in a waggon for the valley of the Scarron. During the past four 
days we had travelled thirty miles on foot in the tangled forest, camped 



44 



THE HUDSON. 



out two nights, and seen some of nature's wildest and grandest lineaments. 
These mountain and lake districts, which form the wilderness of northern 
New York, give to the tourist most exquisite sensations, and the physical 
system appears to take in health at every pore. Invalids go in with 
hardly strength enough to reach some quiet log-house in a clearing, and 
come out with strong quick pulse and elastic muscles. Every year the 
number of tourists and sportsmen who go there rapidly increases, and 
women begin to find more pleasure and health in that wilderness than at 
fashionable watering-places. No wild country in the world can offer 




IRi] & ON BOlLDi.H'. 



more solid attractions to those who desiie to spend a few weeks of leisure 
away from the haunts of men. Pure air and water, and game in 
abundance, may there be found, while in all that region not a venomous 
reptile or poisonous plant may be seen, and the beasts of prey are too few 
and shy to cause the least alarm to the most timid. The climate is 
deliglitful, and there are fertile valleys among those rugged hills that 
will yet smile in beauty under the cultivator's hand. It has been called 
by the uninformed the " Siberia of New York ;" it may more properly 
be called the " Switzerland of the United States." 



THE HUDSON. 



45 



The wind came from among- the mountaius in fitful gusts, thick mists 
were sweeping around the peaks and through the gorges, and there were 
frequent dashes of rain, sometimes falling like showers of gold, in the 
sunlight that gleamed through the hroken clouds, on the morning when 
we left Adirondack village. "We had hired a strong waggon, with three 
spring seats, and a team of experienced horses, to convey us from the 
lieart of the wilderness to the Scarron valley, thirty miles distant, and 
after breakfast we left the kind family of Mr. Hunter, accompanied by 
Sabattis and Preston, who rode with us most of the way for ten miles, in 




ADIRONDACK, OR INDIAN PASS. 



the direction of their homes. Our driver was the owner of the team — a 
careful, intelligent, good-natured man, who lived near Tahawus, at the 
foot of Sand ford Lake. But in all our experience in travelling, we never 
endured such a journey. The highway, for at least twenty-four of the 
thirty miles, is what is technically called corduroy — a sort of corrugated 
stripe of logs ten feet wide, laid through the woods, and dignified with 
the title of " The State road." It gives to a waggon the jolting motion 
of the " dyspeptic chair," and in that way we were " exercised " all day 
long, except Avhen dining at the Tahawus House, on some wild pigeons 



46 



THE HUDSON. 



shot by Sabattis on the way. That inn was upon the road, near the site 
of Tahawus village, at the foot of «Sandford Lake, and was a half-way 
house between Long Lake and Eoot's Inn in the Scarron valley, toward 
which we were travelling. There we parted with our excellent guides, 
after giving them a sincere assurance that we should recommend all 
tourists and hunters, who may visit the head waters of the Hudson, to 
procure their services, if possible. 

About a mile on our way from the Tahawus House, we came to the 
dwelling and i'arm of John Cheney, the oldest and most famous hunter 




and guide in all that regiou. He then seldom went far into the woods, 
for he was beginning to feel the effects of age and a laborious life. We 
called to pay our respects to one so widely known, and yet so isolated, 
and were disappointed. He was away on a short hunting excursion, for 
he loves the forest and the chase with all the enthusiasm of his young 
manhood. He is a slightly-built man, about sixty years of age. He 
was the guide for the scientific corps, who made a geological reconnoissance 
of that region many years before, and for a quarter of a century he had 
there battled the elements and the beasts with a strong arm and unflinch- 
ing will. Many of the tales of his experience are full of the wildest 



THE HUDSON. 



romance, and we hoped to hear the narrative of some adventure from his 
own lips. 

For many years John carried no other weapons than a huge jack-knife 
and a pistoL One of the most stirring of his thousand adventures in the 
Avoods is connected with the history of that pistol. It has been related 
by an acquaintance of the writer, a man of rare genius, and Avho, for 
many years, has been an inmate of an asylum for the insane, in a neigh- 
bouring State. John Cheney was his guide more than twenty years 
before our visit. The time of the adventure alluded to was winter, and 
the snow lay four feet deep in the woods. John went out upon snow- 
shoes, with his rifle and dogs. He wandered far from the settlement, and 
made his bed at night in the deep snow. One morning he arose to 
examine his traps, near which he would lie encamped for weeks in 
complete solitude. When hovering around one of them, he discovered a 
famished wolf, who, iinappalled by the hunter, retired only a few steps, 
and then, turning round, stood watching his movements. "I ought, by 
rights," said John, "to have waited for my two dogs, who could not have 
been far off, but the cretur looked so sassy, standing tliere, that though I 
had not a bullet to spare, I could not help letting into him with my 
rifle." John missed his aim, and the animal gave a spring, as he was in 
the act of firing, and turned instantly upon him before he could reload 
his piece. So effective was the unexpected attack of the wolf, that his 
fore-paws were upon Cheney's snow-shoes before he could rally for the 
fight. The forester became entangled in the deep drift, and sank upon 
his back, keeping the wolf at bay only by striking at him with his 
clubbed rifle. The stock of it was broken into pieces in a few moments, 
and it would have fared ill with the stark woodsman if the wolf, instead 
of making at his enemy's throat when he had him thus at disadvantage, 
had not, with blind fury, seized the barrel of the gun in his jaws. Still 
the fight was unequal, as John, half buried in the snow, could make use 
of but one of his hands. He shouted to his dogs, but one of them only, a 
young, untrained hound, made his appearance. Emerging from a thicket 
he caught sight of his master, lying apparently at the mercy of the 
ravenous beast, uttered a yell of fear, and fled howling to the woods 
again. "Had I had one shot left," said Cheney, " I would have given 



48 



THE HUDSON. 



it to that dog instead of dispatching the wolf with it." In the exaspe- 
ration of the moment John might have extended his contempt to the 
whole canine race, if a stauncher friend had not, at the moment, inter- 
posed to vindicate their character for courage and fidelity. All this 
had passed in a moment ; the wolf was still grinding the iron gun-harrel 
in his teeth — he had even once wrenched it from the hand of the hunter 
— when, dashing like a thunderbolt between the combatants, the other 
hound sprang over his master's body, and seized the wolf by the throat. 
" There was no let go about that dog when he once took hold," said John. 
"If the barrel had been red hot the wolf couldn't have dropped it 
quicker, and it would have done you good, I tell you, to see that old dog 
drag the cretur's head down in the snow, while I, just at my leisure, 
drove the iron into his skull. One good, fair blow, though, with a heavy 
rifle barrel, on the back of the head, finished him. The fellow gave a 
kind o' quiver, stretched out his hind legs, and then he was done for. I 
had the rifle stocked afterwards, but she would never shoot straight since 
that fight, so I got me this pistol, which, beiug light and handy, enables 
me more conveniently to carry an axe upon my long tramps, and make 
myself comfortable in the woods." 

Many a deer has John since killed with that pistol. "It is curious," 
said the narrator, " to see him draw it from the left pocket of his grey 
shooting-jacket, and bring down a partridge. I have myself witnessed 
several of his successful shots with this unpretending shooting-iron, and 
once saw him knock the feathers from a wild duck at fifty yards." 

Most of our journey toward the Scarron was quite easy for the horses, 
for we were descending the great Champlain slope. The roughness of the 
road compelled us to allow the team to walk most of the way. The 
country was exceedingly picturesque. For miles our track lay through 
the solitary forest, its silence disturbed only by the sound of a mountain 
brook, or the voices of the wind among the hills. The winding road was 
closely hemmed by trees and shrubs, and sentineled by lofty pines, and 
birches, and tamaracks, many of them dead, and ready to fall at the touch 
of the next strong wind. Miles apart were the rude cabins of the settlers, 
until we came out upon a high, rolling valley, surrounded by a magnificent 
amphitheatre of hills. Through that valley, from a little lake toward 



THE HUDSON. 



49 



the sources of the Au Sable, flows the cold and rapid Boreas River, one 
of the chief tributaries of the Tipper Hudson. The view was now grand : 
all around us stood the great hills, wooded to their summits, and over- 
looking deep valleys, wherein the primeval forest had never been touched 
by axe or fire ; and on the right, through tall trees, Ave had glimpses of 
an irregular little lake, called Cheney Pond. For three or four miles 
after passing the Boreas we went over a most dreary " clearing," dotted 
with blackened stumps and boulders as thick as hail, a cold north-west 
wind driving at our backs. In the midst of it is Wolf Pond, a dark 




Witter fringed with a tangled growth of alders, shrubs, and creepers, and 
made doubly gloomy by hundreds of dead trees, that shoot up from the 
chapparal. 

This was the "darkness just before daylight," for we soon struck a 
branch of the Scarron, rushing in cascades through a rocky ravine, along 
whose banks we found an excellent road. The surrounding country was 
very rugged in appearance. The rocky hills had been denuded by fire, 
and everything in nature presented a strong contrast to the scene that 
burst upon the vision at sunset, when, from the brow of a hill, we saw 
the beautiful Scarron valley smiling before us. In a few minutes we 



50 THE HUDSON. 



crossed the Scarron River over a covered bridge, and found ourselves 
fairly out of the wilderness, at a new and spacious inn, kept by Russell 
Root, a small, active, and obliging man, well known all over that nortliern 
country. His house was the point of departure and arrival for those who 
take what may be called the lower route to and from the hunting and 
fishing grounds of the Upper Hudson, and the group of lakes beyond. 
Over his door a pair of enormous moose liorns formed an appropriate sign- 
board, for he was both quarter-master and commissary of sportsmen in 




MOOSii HORNS. 



that region. At his house everytliing necessary for the woods and waters 
might be obtained. 

The Scarron, or Schroon River, is the eastern branch of the Hudson. 
It rises in the heart of Essex County, and flowing southward into Warren 
county, receiving in its course the waters of Paradox and Scarron, or 
Schroon Lake, and a large group of ponds, forms a confluence, near 
Warrensburg, with the main waters of the Hudson, that come down from 
the Adirondack region. The name of Schroon for this branch is fixed in 
the popular mind, appears in books and on maps, and is heard upon every 
lip. It is a corruption of Scarron, the name given to the lake by French 
officers, who were stationed at Fort St. Frederick, on Crown Point, at 
the middle of the last century. In their rambles iij the wilderness on the 
western shore of Lake Champlain, they discovered a beautiful lake, and 
named it in gallant homage to the memory of the widow of the poet 
Scarron, who, as Madame de Maintenon, became the queen of Louis XIV. 
of France. The name was afterwards applied to the river, and tlie 



THE HUDSON. 



51 



modern corrupt orthography and pronunciation were unknown hefore the 
present century, at the beginning of which settlements were first com- 
menced in that region. In the face of legal documents, common speech, 
and maps, we may rightfully call it Scarron ; for the antiquity and 
respectability of an error arc not valid excuses for perpetuating it. 

From Root's we rode down the valley to the pleasant little village on 
the western shore of Scarron Lake. We turned aside to visit the beautiful 
Paradox Lake, nestled among wooded hills a short distance from the river. 
It is separated from Scarron Lake by a low alluvial drift, and is so nearly 




on a level with the river into which it empties, that when torrents from 
tlie hills swell the waters of that stream, a current flows back into 
Paradox Lake, making its outlet an Met for the time. Prom this circum- 
stance it received its name. We rode far up its high southern shore to 
enjoy many fine views of the lake and its surroundings, and returning, 
lunched in the shadows of trees at a rustic bridge that spans its outlet a 
few rods below the lake. 

Scarron Lake is a beautiful sheet of water, ten miles in length, and 
about a mile in average width. It is ninety miles north of Albany, and 
lies partly in Essex and partly in "Warren County. Its aspect is interest- 



52 



THE HUDSON. 



ing from every point of view. The gentle slopes on its western shore are 
well cultivated and thickly inhabited, the result of sixty years' settlement, 
but on its eastern shore are precipitous and rugged hills, which extend in 
wild and picturesque succession to Lake Champlain, fifteen or twenty 
miles distant. In the bosom of these hills, and several hundred feet 
above the Scarron, lies Lake Pharaoh, a body of cold water surrounded 
by dark mountains, and near it is a large cluster of ponds, all of Avhich 
find a receiving reservoir in Scarron Lake, and make its outlet a large 
stream. 

In the lake directly iu front of Scarron village is an elliptical island, 




containing about one hundred acres. It was purchased a few ycar.^ ago 
by Colonel A. L. Ireland, a wealthy gentleman of IS'ew York, Avho went 
there in search of health, and who spent large sums of money in subduing 
the savage features of the island, erecting a pleasant summer mansion 
upon it, and in changing the rough and forbidding aspect of the whole 
domain into one of beauty and attractiveness. Taste and labour had 
wrought wonderful eliangcs there, and its appearance justified the title it 
bore of Isola Bella — the Indian Cay-ira-noot. The mansion was cruciform, 



THE HUDSON. 53 



and delightfully situated. lu front of it -were tastefully ornamented 
grounds, with vistas through the forest trees, that afforded glimpses of 
charming lake, landscape, and distant mountain scenery. Within were 
evidences of elegant refinement — a valuable library, statuary, bronzes, 
and some rare paintings. Among other sketches was a picture of Hale 
Hall, in Lancashire, England — the ancestral dwelling of Colonel Ireland, 
who is a lineal descendant of Sir John de Ireland, a Norman baron who 
accompanied William the Conqueror to England, was at the battle of 
Hastings, and received from the monarch a large domain, upon Avhich he 
built a castle. On the site of that castle, Hale Hall was erected by Sir 
Gilbert Ireland, who was a member of parliament, and lord-lieutenant of 
his county. Hale Hall remains in possession of the family. 

We were conveyed to Isola Bella in a skiff, rowed by two watermen, 
in the face of a stiff breeze that ruffled the lake, and it was almost sunset 
when we returned to the village of Scarron Lake. It was Saturday 
evening, and we remained at the village until Monday morning, and then 
rode down the pleasant A^alley to Warrensburg, near the junction of the 
Scarron and the west branch of the Hudson, a distance of almost tliiriy 
miles. It was a very delightful ride, notwithstanding we were menaced 
by a storm. Our road lay first along the cultivated western margin of 
the lake, and thence through a rolling valley, from which we caught 
occasional glimpses of the river, sometimes near and sometimes distant. 
The journey occupied a greater portion of the day. We passed two 
quiet villages, named respectively Pottersville and Chester. The latter, 
the larger of the two, is at the outlet of Loon and Friendship Lakes — 
good fishing places, a few miles distant. Both villages are points upou 
the State road, from which sportsmen depart for the adjacent woods and 
waters. An hour's ride from either place will put them Avithin tlie 
borders of the great wilderness, and beyond the sounds of the settlements. 

Warrensburg is situated partly upon a high plain and partly upon a 
slope that stoops to a bend of the Scarron, about two miles above its 
confluence with the west branch of the Hudson. It was a village of 
about seven hundred inhabitants, in the midst of rugged mountain 
scenery, the hills abounding with iron ore. As we approached it we came 
to a wide plain, over which lay — in greater perfection than any we had 



54 



THE HUDSON. 



yet seen — stump fences, which are peculiai' to the Upper Hudson country. 
They are composed of the stumps of large pine-trees, drawn from the soil 
by machines made for the purpose, and they are so disposed in rows, their 
roots interlocking, as to form an effectual barrier to the j)assage of any 
animal on whose account fences arc made. ' The stumps are full of sap 
(turpentine), and wc were assured, with all the confidence of experience, 
that these fences would last a thousand years, the turpcutine preserving 
the woody fibre. One of the stump-machines stood in a field near the 
road. It was a simple derrick, Avith a large wooden screw hanging from 
the apex, where its heavy matrix Avas fastened. In the lower end of the 
screw was a large iron bolt, and at the upper end, or head, a strong lever 




STlMl'-.VAimiNK. 



was fastened. The derrick is placed over a stump, and heavy chains are 
wound round and under the stump and over the iron bolt in the screw. 
A horse attached to the lever works the screw in such a manner as to 
draw the stump and its roots clean from the ground. The stump fences 
formed quite a picturesque feature in the landscape, and at a distance 
ha-^-e the appearance of masses of deer horns. 

It was toward evening when we arrived at Warrensburg, but before 
sunset we had strolled over the most interesting portions of the village, 
along the river and its immediate vicinity. Here, as elsewhere, the pre- 
vailing drought had diminished the streams, and the Scarron, usually a 



THE HUDSON. 



55 



wild, rushing river, from the village to its confluence Avith the Hudson 
proper, was a comparatively gentle creek, with many of the rocks in its 
bed quite bare, and timber lodged among them. The buildings of a large 
manufactory of leather skirted one side of the rapids, and at their head 
was a large dam and some mills. That region abounded with establish- 
ments for making leather, the hemlock-tree, whose bark is used for 
tanning, being very abundant upon the mountains. 

"We passed the night at Warrensburg, and early in the morning rode to 
the confluence of the Scarron and Hudson rivers, in a charming little 




VIEW AT WAREE>-SBr: 



valley which formed the Indian pass of Tco-ho-Kvii in the olden time, 
between the Thunder's Nest and other high hills. The point where the 
waters met was a lovely spot, shaded by elms and other spreading trees, 
and forming a picture of beauty and repose in strong contrast with the 
rugged hills around. On the north side of the valley rises the Thunder's 
Nest (which appears in our little sketch), a lofty pile of rocks full eight 
liundred feet in height \ and from the great bridge, three hundred feet 
long, which spanned the Hudson just below the confluence, there was a 
view of a fine amphitheatre of hills. 



THE HUDSON. 



From Tahawus, at the foot of Sandford Lake, to the confluence with 
the Scarron, at Warrensburg, a distance of about fifty miles by its course, 
the Hudson flows most of the way through an almost unbroken wilderness. 
Through that region an immense amount of timber is annually cast into 
the stream, to be gathered by the owners at the great boom near Glen's 
Falls. From "Warrcnsburg to Luzerne, at Jesup's Little Falls, the river 
is equally imintercstiug, and these two sections we omitted in our explo- 
rations, because they promised very small returns for the time and labour 
to be spent in visiting them. 80 at Warrensburg we left the river again. 




CONFLUENCE 01- THE HUDSON AND SCAREON. 



and took a somewhat circuitous route to Luzerne, that we might travel a 
good road. That route, by far the most interesting for the tourist, leads 
by the way of Caldwell, at the head of Lake George, through a moun- 
tainous and very picturesque country, sparsely dotted with neat farmhouses 
in the intervals between the grand old hills. The road is planked, and 
occasionally a fountain by the wayside sends out its clear stream from 
rocks, or a mossy bank, into a rude reservoir, such as is seen delineated 



THE HUDSON. 



in the picture at the head of Chapter II. While watering our horses at 
one of these, the ring of merry hiughter came up through the little valley 
near, and a few moments afterward we met a group of young people 
enjoying the pleasures of a pic-nio. 

At noon we reined up in front of the Fort William Henry Hotel, at 
the head of Lake George, where we dined, and then departed through tlie 
forest for Luzerne. That immense caravansera for the entertainment of 
summer visitors stands upon classic ground. It is upon the site of old 
Fort William Henry, erected by General William .lolinson in the autumn 




of 1755, and named in honour of two of the lloyal Family of England. 
At the same time the general changed the name of llie lake from that of 
the Holy Sacrament, given it by Father Jogue, a French priest, who 
reached the head of it on Corpus Christi day, to George — not in simple 
honour to his Mnjesty, then reigning monarch of England, but, as the 
general said, "to assert his undoubted dominion here." The Indians 
called it, Can-ai-de-ri-oit, or Tale of the Lake, it appearing as such 
appendage to Lake Champlain. 

I 



58 



THE HUDSON. 



Prom the broad colonnade of the hotel the eye takes in the lake and its 
shores to the Narrows, about fifteen miles, and includes a theatre of great 
historic interest. Over those waters came the Hurons to fight the 
Mohawks, and during the Seven Years' war, when French dominion in 
America was crushed by the united powers of England and her American 
colonies, those hills often echoed the voice of the trumpet, the beat of the 
drum, the roar of cannon, the crack of musketry, the savage yell, and tlie 
shout of victory. At the head of the lake, British and Gallic warriors 
fought desperately, early in September, 1755; and history has recorded 
the results of many battle-fields in that vicinity during the last century, 
before and after the colonists and the mother-country came to blows, after 
a long and bitter quarrel. At the head of Lake George, where another 
fort had been erected near the ruins of William Henry, the republicans, 
in the old War for Independence, had a military depot ; and until the 
surrender of Sir John Burgoyne, at Saratoga, on the Hudson, in 1777, 
that lake was a minor theatre of war, where the respective adherents of 
the "Continental" and "Ministerial" parties came into frequent 
collisions. Since then a profound peace has reigned over all that region, 
and at the Fort "William Henry House and its neighbours are gathered 
every summer the wise and the wealthy, the noble, gay, and beautiful of 
many lands, seeking and finding health in recreation. 



CHAPTEE 1\ 




E started for Luzerne after an early dinner, 
crossing on our way the " Frencli field," 
whereon Dicskau disposed his troops for 
action. "VYe then entered the woods, and 
our route of eleven miles lay through a 
highly picturesque country, partially culti- 
vated, among the hills, and following the 
old Indian war-path from the Sacandaga to 
Lake George. As we approached Luzerne, 
the country spread into a high plain, as at 
"Warrensburg, on the southern margin of 
which, overlooked by lofty hills, lies Luzerne 
Lake. We passed it on our left, and then 
went down quite a steep and winding way into the village, on the bank 
of the Hudson, and found an excellent home at Eockwell's spacious inn. 
We have seldom seen a village more picturesquely situated than this. It 
is about seventy miles from the Adirondack village, and on the borders of 
the great wilderness, where game and fish abound, and for a quiet place 
of summer resoi't, can hardly be surpassed. It lies at the foot of a high 
blutf, down which fiows in cascades the outlet of Luzerne Lake, and leaps 
into the Hwdsou, which here makes a magnificent sweep before rushing, 
in narrow channel and foaming rapids between high rocky banks, to 
receive the equally turbulent waters of the Sacandaga, just below. That 
place the Indians called Tt'o-sa-ron-da, the "Meeting of the Waters." 
Twenty years ago, there were several mills at the head of these falls : a 
flood swept them away, and they have never been rebuilt. 

The rapids at Luzerne, which form a fall of about eighteen feet, bear 
the name of Jesup's Little Palls, to distinguish them from Jesup's Great 



60 



THE HUDSON. 



Fall?, five miles below, Loth being included in patents granted to Ebenezer 
Jesup, who, with a family of Fairchilds, settled there before the Revolu- 
tion, Avhen Luzerne Avas called Westfield. These settlers espoused the 
cause of the king, and because of their depredations upon their Whig 
neighbours, became very obnoxious. They held intercourse with the 
loyal Scotch Highlanders, who were under the influence of the Johnsons 
and other royalists in the Mohawk valley, and acted as spies and 
inforaiants for the enemies of republicanism. In the summer of 1777, 




~»^^ 



FALLS AT LUZEKNE. 



while liurgoyue was making his way toward Albany, Colonel St„ Leger 
penetrated the upper Mohawk valley, and laid siege to Fort Schuyler. 
On one occasion he sent Indian messengers to the Fairchilds, who took 
the old trail through the Sacandaga valley, by way .of the Fish House, 
owned by Sir William Johnson. AVhen they approached Tio-sa-ron-da 
(Luzerne), they were discovered and pursued by a party of republicans, 
and one of them, close pressed, leaped the Hudson, at the foot of Jesup's 
Little Falls, the high wooded banks then approaching within twenty-five 
feet of each other. He escaped, took the trail to Lake George, and pushed 
on to Skeuesborough (now Whitehall), where he found Burgoyne. Soon after 



THE HUDSON. 



61 



this a small party of republican troops, sent by General Gates, not succeed- 
ing in capturing these royalists at Westfield, laid Avaste tbe settlement. 

Luzerne Lake, lying many feet above the village, is a beautiful little 
sheet of water, with a single small island upon its bosom. It is the 
larger of a series of four lakes, extending back to within five miles of 
Lake George. It abounds with fine fish, the largest and most delicious 
being the Masque alonge, a species of pike or pickerel, which is also found 
in the Upper Hudson, and all over northern New York. One was caught 




in the lake, and brought to Hockwell's, on the morning of our departure, 
Avhich weighed between five and six pounds. •'• 

On the northern shore of Luzerne Lake, Avhere the villas of Eenjamin 
C. Butler and J. Leati, Esqs. (seen in the picture), stood, was the ancient 
gathering place of the Indians in cou-ncil. Here was the fork of the great 
Sacandaga and Oneida trail, one branch extending to Lake George and 
the northern country, and the other to Port Edward and the more 
southern country. All around the lake and village are ranges of lofty 
hills, filled with iron ore. On the west is the Kayaderosseros range, 
extending from Ballston to the Adirondacks, and on the east of the 



* Tha Masque alonqe (Eiur estor) derivea its name from the peculiar foiination of its mouth and 
head. The French caUed it Masque alunge, or Long-face. It is the largest of the pickerel species. 
Some have been caught among the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence, in the vicinity of Alexandi-ia 
Bay, on its southern shore, weighing fifty pounds, and measuiing five feet in length. It is the most 
voracious of fresh-water fish. 



62 



THE HUDSON. 



Luzerne range, stretcliing from Saratoga Springs to the western shores of 
Lake George. Four miles north of the village is a hemispherical moun- 




I-UZERXE LAKE. 



tain, eight hundred feet in height, rocky and bald, which the Indians 
called Se-non-ffe-irah, the Great Upturned Pot. 




CONFLUENCE Oy 'lUE HUDSON AND S.iCANDAUA. 

The Sacandaga is the largest tributary of the Mohawk, and conies down 
seventy-five miles from the north-west, out of lakes and ponds in the 



THE HUDSON. 



63 



"wilderness of Hamilton County. Its confluence with its receptacle is at 
the head of a very beautiful valley, that terminates at Luzerne. It 
comes sweeping around the bases of high hills with a rapid current, and 
rushes swiftly into the Hudson, where the latter has become deep and 
sluggish after its commotion at the falls above. Down that valley we 
rode, with the river in view all the way to the village of Corinth, at the 
head of the long rapids above Jesup's Great Falls, the Kah-che-hon-cooh of 
the Indians. These were formerly known as the Hadley Palls. They 
were afterward called Palmer's Falls, the land on each side of the river 




KAII-C•^E-BO^-CoOh, OR JESIP'S GRl.Al F.SXLS. 



being in possession of Beriah Talmcr and others, who there constructed 
extensive works for manufacturing purposes. The water-power there, 
even at the very low stage of the river, as when we visited it, has been 
estimated to be equal to fifteen thousand horse-power. They had laid 
out a village, with a public square and fountain, and were preparing for 
industrial operations far greater than at any point so far up the Hudson. 
It is only sixteen miles north of Saratoga Springs. 

We followed a path down the margin of the roaring stream some 
distance, and, returning, took a rough road which led to the foot of the 



64 THE HUDSON. 



Great Fall. From Jesup's landing to this point, a distance of more than 
a mile, the river descends abont one hundred and twenty feet, in some 
places rushing wildly through rocky gorges from eighty to one hundred 
feet in depth. The perpendicular fall is seventy-fiye feet. "\Ve did not 
see it in its grandeur, the river was so low. From its course back, 
some distance, the stream was choked with thousands of logs that had 
come down from the wilderness and lodged there. They lay in a 
mass, in every conceivable position, to the depth of many feet, and 
so filled the river as to form a safe, though rough bridge, for us to 
cross. Between this point and Glen's Falls, thirteen miles distant 
by the nearest road, the Hudson makes a grand sweep among lofty 
and rugged hills of the Luzerne range, and flows into a sandy plain a 
few miles above the latter village. "We did not follow its course, but 
took that nearest road, for the day was waning. Over mountains and 
through valleys, catching glimpses of the river here and there, we 
travelled that bright afternoon in early autumn, our eyes resting only 
upon near objects most of the time, until we reached the summit of a 
lofty hill, nine miles from Glen's Falls. There a revelation of beauty, 
not easily described, burst upon the vision. Looking over and beyond 
the minor hills through an opening in the Luzerne range, we saw the 
Green Mountains of Yermont in the far distance, bathed in shadowy 
splendour, and all the intervening country, with its villages and farm- 
houses, lay before us. The spires and white houses of Glen's Falls 
appeared so near, that we anticipated a speedy end to our day's journey. 
That vision was enjoyed but for a few moments, for we were soon again 
among the tangled hills. But another appeared to charm us. We had 
just commenced the descent of a mountain, along whose brow lies the 
dividing line between the towns of Luzerne and Queensbury, when a 
sudden turn in the road revealed a deep, narrow valley far below us, with 
the Hudson sweeping through it with rapid current. The sun's last rays 
had loft that valley, and the shadows were deepening along the waters as 
we descended to their margin. Twilight was drawing its delicate veil 
over the face of nature when we reached the plain just mentioned, and 
the night had closed in when we arrived at the village of Glen's Falls. 
We had hoped to reach there in time to visit the State Dam and the 



THE HUDSON. 



65 



Great Boom, which span the Hudson at separate points, a few miles 
above the falls, but were compelled to forego that pleasure until morning. 
"We were now fairly out of the wilderness in which the Hudson rises, 
and through which it flows for a hundred miles ; and here our little party 
was broken by the departure of Mr. Buckingham for home. Mrs. Lossing 
and myself lingered at Glen's Tails and at Fort Edward, five miles below, 
a day or two longer, for the purpose of visiting objects of interest in their 
vicinity, a description of which will be given as we proceed with our 




notes. A brief notice of the State Dam and Great Boom, just mentioned, 
seems necessary. 

The dam was about two and a-half miles above Glen's Falls. It had 
been constructed about fifteen years before, to furnish water for the feeder 
of the canal which connects the Hudson river and Lake Champlain. It 
was sixteen hundred feet in length ; and the mills near it have attracted 
a population sufiicicnt to constitute quite a \illage, named State Dam. 
About two miles above this dyke was the Great Boom, thrown across the 
river for the purpose of catching all the logs that come floating from 
above. It was made of heavy, hewn timbers, four of them bolted together 

K 



66 



THE HUDSON. 



raft- wise. The ends of the groups were conuected by chains, which 
worked over friction rollers, to allow the boom to accommodate itself to 
the motion of the water. Each end of the boom was secured to a heavy 
abutment by chains ; and above it were strong triangular structures to 
break the ice, to serve as anchors for the boom, and to opeiate as shields 
to prevent the logs striking the boom with the full speed of the current. 
At times, immense numbers of logs were collected above this boom, tilling 
the river for two or three miles. In the spring of 1859, at least half a 
million of logs were collected there, ready to be taken into small side- 





$;c^^^^^^tT^^m 



THE gki;at boom. 



booms, assorted by the owners according to their private murks, and seut 
down to Glen's Falls, Sandy Hill, or Fort Edward, to be sawed into 
boards at the former places, or made into rafts at the latter, for a voyage 
down the river. Heavy rains and melting snows filled the river to over- 
flowing. The great boom snapped asunder, and the half million of logs 
went rushing down the stream, defying every barrier. The country 
below was flooded by the swollen river ; and we saw thousands of the 
logs scattered over the valley of the Hudson from Fort Edward to Troy, 
a distance of about forty miles. 



THE HUDSON. 67 



We have taken leave of the wilderness. Henceforth our path will he 
where the Hudson flows through cultivated plains, along the margins of 
gentle slopes, of rocky headlands, and of lofty hills ; hy the cottages of the 
humble, and the mansions of the wealthy ; by pleasant hamlets, through 
thriving villages, ambitious cities, and the marts of trade and commei'ce. 

Unlike the rivers of the elder world, famous in the history of men, the 
Hudson presents no grey and crumbling monuments of the ruder civilisa- 
tions of the past, or even of the barbaric life so recently dwelling upon its 
borders. It can boast of no rude tower or mouldering wall, clustered 
with historical associations that have been gathering around them for 
centuries. It has no fine old castles, in glory or in ruins, with visions of 
romance pictured in their dim shadows ; no splendid abbeys or cathedrals, 
in grandeur or decay, from which emanate an aura of religious memories. 
Nor can it boast of mansions or ancestral halls wherein a line of heroes 
have been born, or illustrious families have lived and died, generation 
after generation. Upon its banks not a vestige of feudal power may he 
seen, because no citadel of great wrongs ever rested there. The dead 
Past has left scarcely a record upon its shores. It is full of the living 
Present, illustrating by its general aspect the free thought and free action 
which are giving strength and solidity to the young and vigorous nation 
within whose bosom its bright waters flow. 

Yet the Hudson is not without a history — a history brilliant in some 
respects, and in all interesting, not only to the American, but to the whole 
ci^'ilised world. Prom the spot where we now stand — the turbulent 
Glen's Palls — to the sea, the banks of the beautiful river have voices 
innumerable for the ear of the patient listener ; telling of joy and woe, of 
love and beauty, of noble heroism, and more noble fortitude, of glory, and 
high renown, worthy of the sweetest cadences of the minstrel, the glowing 
numbers of the poet, the deepest investigations of the philosopher, and the 
gravest records of the historian. Let us listen to those voices. 

Glen's Palls consist of a series of rapi<ls nnd cascades, along a descent of 
about eighty feet, the water flowing over ragged masses of black marble, 
which here form the bed and banks of the river. Hawk-eye, in Cooper's 
"Last of the Mohicans," has given an admirable description of these falls, 
as they appeared before the works of mnn changed their features. He is 



THE HUDSON. 



standing in a cavern, or irregular arched way, in the rock below the 
bridge,* in the time of the old French war, with Uncas and Major Hey- 
wood, and Cora and Alice Munro, the daughters of the commandant at 
Fort William Henry, on Lake George, when Montcalm with his motley 
horde of French and Indians was approaching. "Ay," he said, " there 
are the falls on two sides of us, and the river above and below. If you 
had daylight, it would be worth the trouble to step up on the height of 
this rock, and look at the perversity of the water. It falls by no rule at 
all : sometimes it leaps, sometimes it tumbles ; there it skips — here it 
shoots ; in one place 'tis as white as snow, and in another 'tis as green as 
grass ; hereabouts, it pitches into deep hollows, that rumble and quake 
the 'arth, and thereaway it ripples and sings like a brook, fashioning 
whirlpools and gullies in the old stone, as if 'twere no harder than trodden 
clay. The whole design of the river seems disconcerted. First, it runs 
smoothly, as if meaning to go down the descent as things were ordered ; 
then it angles about and faces the shores ; nor are there places wanting 
where it looks backward, as if unwilling to leave the wilderness to mingle 
with the salt ! " 

The falls had few of these features when we visited them. The volume 
of water was so small that the stream was almost hidden in the deep 
channels in the rock worn by the current during the lapse of centuries. 
No picture could then be made to give an adequate idea of the cascades 
when the river is full, and I contented myself with making a sketch of 
the scene below the bridge, at the foot of the falls, from the water-side 
entrance to the cavern alluded to. A fine sepia drawing, by the late 
Mr. Bartlett, which I found subsequently among some original sketches 
in my possession, supplies the omission. The engraving from it gives a 
perfect idea of the appearance of the falls when the river is at its usual 
height. 

The Indians gave this place the significant name of Chf-pon-ti(C — 
meaning a difficult place to get around. The white man first called the 
cascades AYing's Falls, in honour of Abraham Wing, who, with others 



* A view nf this cavern is seen at the liead of this cliaiite 
it, and looking out upon the river and the opposite bank. 



Tlie spectator is supposed to be wiihi 



THE HUDSON. 



from Duchess County, New York, settled there under a grant from the 
Crown, about the middle of the last century. Many years afterwards, 
when "Wing was dead, and his son was in possession of the falls and the 
adjacent lands, a convivial party assembled at table in the tavern there, 
which formed the germ of the present village of nearly four thousand 
inhabitants. Among them was Mr. Wing; also John Glen, a man of 
fortune, who lived on the south side of the river. The wine circulated 
freely, and it ruled the wit of the hour. Under its influence. Wing 




agreed to transfer to Glen the right of name to the falls, on condition 
that the latter should pay for the supper of the company. Glen imme- 
diately posted handbills along the bridle-path from the Wing's to Schenec- 
tada and Albany, announcing the change in the name of the falls ; and 
ever since they have been known as Glen's Falls. For a "mess of 
pottage " the young man sold his family birthright to immortality. 

Glen's Falls village is beautifully situated upon a plain on the north 
side of the river, and occupies a conspicuous place in the trade and travel 



70 



THE HUDSON. 



of that section of the State. ■^' The -water-power there is very great, and 
is used extensively for flouring and himber mills. The surplus water 
supplies a navigable feeder to the Champlain Canal, that connects Lake 
Champlain with the Hudson. There are also several mills for slabbing 
the fine black marble of that locality for the construction of chimney- 
pieces, and for other uses. These various mills mar the natural beauty of 
the scene, but their uncouth and irregular forms give picturesqueness to 
the view. The bridge crosses just at the foot of the falls. It rests upon 
abutments of strong masonry at each end, and a pier in the middle, whicli 




is seated upon the caverned rock, just mentioned, which was once in the 
bed of the stream. The channel on the soutliern side has been closed by 
an abutment, and one of the chambers of the cavern, made memorable by 
Cooper, is completely shut. When we Avere there, huge logs nearly filled 
the upper entrance to it. BcloAV the bridge the shores are black marble, 
beautifully stratified, perpendicular, and, in some places, seventy feet in 



* Not loiifT after our visit here menticned, a greater pirtion of tlie village was clfstr.iyecl by fire, but 
it was soon rebuilt. 



THE HUDSON. 71 



lieiglit. Between these walls the water runs with a swift current for 
nearly a mile, and finally, at Sandy Hill, three miles below, is broken 
into rapids. 

At Sandy Hill the Hudson makes a magnificent sweep, in a curve, 
when changing its course from an easterly to a southerly direction ; and a 
little below that village it is broken into wild cascades, which have been 
named Baker's Palls. Sandy Hill, like the borough of Glen's Falls, 
stands upon a high plain, and is a very beautiful village, of about thirteen 
hundred inhabitants. In its centre is a shaded green, which tradition 
points to as the spot where a tragedy was enacted more than a century 
ago, some incidents of which remind us of the romantic but truthful 
story of Captain Smith and Pocahontas, in Virginia. The time of the 
tragedy was during the old Prench war, and the chief actor was a young 
Albanian, son of Sybrant Quackenboss, one of the sturdy Dutch burghers 
of that old city. The young man was betrothed to a maiden of the same 
city ; the marriage day was fixed, and preparations for the nuptials were 
nearly completed, when he Avas impressed into the military service as a 
waggoner, and required to convey a load of provisions from Albany to 
Port ^Yilliam Henry, at the head of Lake George. He had passed Port 
Edward with an escort of sixteen men, under Lieutenant McGinnis, of 
New Hampshire, and was making his way through the gloomy forest at 
the bend of the Hudson, when they were attacked, overpowered, and dis- 
armed by a party of Prench Indians, under the famous parti/an Marin. 
The prisoners were taken to the trunk of a fallen tree, and seated upon it 
in a row. The captors then started toward Port Edward, leaving the 
helpless captives strongly bound with green withes, in charge of two or 
three stalwart warriors, and their squaws, or wives. In the course of an 
hour the party returned. Young Quackenboss was seated at one end of 
the log, and Lieutenant McGinnis next him. The savages held a brief 
consultation, and then one of them, with a glitteriug tomahawk, went to 
the end of the log opposite Quackeuboss, and deliberately sank his weapon 
in the brain of the nearest soldier. He fell dead upon the ground. The 
second shared a like fate, then a third, and so on until all were slain but 
McGinnis and Quackenboss. The tomahawk was raised to cleave the 
skull of the former, when he threw himself suddenly backward from the 



THE HUDSON. 



log, aud attempted to break his bonds. In an instant a dozen tomahawks 
gleamed over his head. For a while he defended himself with his heels, 
lying upon his back, but after being severely hewn with their hatchets, 
he was killed by a blow. Quackenboss alone remained of the seventeen. 
As the fatal steel was about to fall upon his head, the arm of the savage 
executioner was arrested by a squaw, who exclaimed, " You shan't kill 
him I He's no lighter I He's iinj dog !''■ He was spared and itnbound, 
and, staggering under a pack of plunder almost too heavy for him to 
sustain, he was marched towards Canada, as a prisoner, the Indians bear- 
ing the scalps of his murdered fellow captives as trophies. They went 
down Lake Champlain in canoes, and at the lirst Indian village, after 
reaching its foot, he was compelled to run the gauntlet between rows of 
savage men armed with clubs. In this terrible ordeal he was severely 
wounded. His Indian mistress then took him to her wigwam, bound up 
his wounds, and carefully nursed him until he was fully recovered. The 
Governor of Canada ransomed him, took him to Montreal, and there he 
was employed as a weaver. He obtained the governor's permission to 
write to his parents to inform them of his fate. The letter was carried 
by an Indian as near Fort Edward as ho dared to approach, when he 
placed it in a split stick, near a frecpicnted path in the forest. It was 
found, was conveyed to Albany, and gave great joy to his friends. He 
remained in Canada three years, when he returned, married his affianced, 
and died in Washington County, in the year 1820, at the age of eighty- 
three years. 

liakcr's Falls are about half-way between Sandy Hill and Fort Edward. 
The river is about four hundred feet in width, and the entire descent of 
water, in the course of a mile, is between seventy and eighty feet. As 
at Glen's Falls, the course of the river is made irregular by huge masses 
of rocks, aud it rushes in foaming cascades to the chasm below. The 
best vieAV is from the foot of the falls, but as these could not be reached 
from the eastern side, on which the paper-mills stand, without much 
difficulty and some danger, I sketched a less imposing view from the high 
rocky bank on their eastern margin. This affords a glimpse of the mill- 
dam above the great fall, the village of Sandy Hill in the distance, and 
the piers of a projected railway bridge in the stream at the great bend. 



THE HUDSON. 73 

The direction of the railway was changed after these piers were built at 
a heavy expense, and they remain as monuments of caprice, or of some- 
thing still less commendable. 

Fort Edward, five miles below Glen's Falls, by the river's course, was 
earliest known as the great carrying place, it being the point of overland 
departure for Lake Champlain, across the isthmus of five-and-twenty 
miles. It has occupied an important position in the history of JSTew York 




BAKKK'S FALLS. 



from an early period, and at the .time wc arc considering was a ^ciy 
thriving village of about two thousand inhabitants. 

In the year 1696, the unscrupulous Governor Fletcher granted to one 
of his favourites, Avhom he styled "our Loving Subject, the Reverend 
Godfridius Dellius, Minister of the Gospell att our city of Albany," a 
tract of laud lying upon the cast side of the Hudson, between the 
northernmost bounds of the Saratoga patent, and a point of Lake Cham- 
plain, a distance of seventy miles, with an average Avidth of twelve miles. 
For this domain the worldly-minded clergyman was required, in the lan- 
guage of the grant, to pay, " on the feast-day of the Annunciation of our 
blessed Virgin Mary, at our City of Is^ew Yorke, the Annual Rent of one 

L 



THE HUDSON. 



llaccoon Skin, in Lieu and Steade of all other Eents, Services, Dues, 
Dutycs, and Demands whatsoever for the said Tract of Land, and Islands, 
and Premises." Governor Bellomont soon succeeded Fletcher, and, through 
his influence, the legislature of the province annulled this and other 
similar gra^ts, That hody, exercising ecclesiastical as "well as civil 
functions, also passed a resolution, suspending Dellius from the ministry, 
for " deluding the Maquaas (Mohawk) Indians, and illegal and surreptitious 
obtaining of said grant." Dellius denied the authority of the legislature, 
and, after contesting his claim for a while, he returned to Holland. 
There he transferred .his title to the domain to the Eev. John Lydius, 
who became Dellius's successor in the ministry at Albany, in 1703. 
Lydius soon afterward built a stone trading-house upon the site of Fort 
Edward. Its door and windows were strongly barred, and near the roof 
the walls were pierced for musketry. It was erected upon a high mound, 
and' palisaded, as a defence against enemies. , 

In 1709 an expedition was prepared for the conquest of Canada. The 
commander of the division to attack Montreal was Francis IS'icholson, 
who had been lieutenant-governor of the province of New York. Under 
his direction a military road, forty miles in length, was opened from 
Saratoga, on the east side of the Hudson, to "White Hall, on Lake Cham- 
plain. Along this route three forts were erected. The upper one was 
named Fort Anne, in honour of the Queen of England ; the middle one, 
of which Lydius' s house formed a part, was called Fort Nicholson, in 
honour of the commander; and the lower one, just 
below the mouth of the Batten-Kill, was named 
Fort Saratoga. Almost fifty years later, when 
a provincial army, under General Johnson, of 
the Mohawk valley, and General Lyman, of 
Connecticut, was moving forward to drive the 
French from Lake Champlain, a strong irregular 
quadrangular fort was erected by the latter 
officer, upon the site of Fort Nicholson, and the fortification was called 
Fort Lyman, in his honour. It was not fairly completed when a successful 
battle was fought with the French and Indians under the Baron Dieskau, 
at the head of Lake George, the honours of which were more greatly 



^ 



'■i' 



THE HUDSON. 



due to Lyman than Johnson. But the latter was chief commaacler. His 
king, as we have seen, gave him the honours of knighthood and £4,000. 
With a mean spirit of jealousy, Johnson not only omitted to mention General 
Lyman in his despatches, but changed the name of the fort which he had 
erected, to Edward, in honour of one of the royal family of England. 

Tort Edward was an important military post during the whole of the 
French and Indian war, — that Seven Years' War which cost England 
more than a hundred millions of pounds sterling, and laid one of the 
broadest of the foundation-stones of her immense national debt. There, 
on one occasion, Israel Putnam, a bold provincial partizau, and afterward 
a major-general in the American revolutionary army, performed a most 
daring exploit. It was winter, and the whole country was covered with 
deep snow. Early in the morning of a mild day, one of the rows of 
wooden barracks in the fort took fire ; the flames had progressed exten- 
sively before they were discovered. The garrison was summoned to duty, 
but all efforts to subdue the fire were in vain. Putnam, who was 
stationed upon Roger's Island, opposite the fort, crossed the river upon 
the ice with some of his men, to assist the garrison. The fire was then 
rapidly approaching the building containing the powder-magazine. Tlie 
danger was becoming every moment more imminent and frightful, for an 
explosion of the powder woidd destroy the whole fort and many lives. 
The water-gate was thrown open, and soldiers were ordered to bring 
filled buckets from the river. Putnam mounted to the roof of the 
building next to^he magazine, and, by means of a ladder, he was supplied 
with water. Still the fire raged, and the commandant of the fort, 
perceiving Putnam's danger, ordered him down. The unflinching major 
begged permission to remain a little longer. It was granted, and he did 
not leave his post until he felt the roof beneath him giving way. It fell, 
and only a few feet from the blazing mass was the magazine building, its 
sides already charred with the heat. Unmindful of the peril, Putnam 
placed himself between the fire and the sleeping power in the menaced 
building, which a spark might arouse to destructive activity. Under a 
shower of cinders, he hurled bucket-full after bucket-full of water upon 
the kindling magazine, with ultimate success. The flames were subdued, 
the magazine and remainder of the fort were saved, and the intrepid 



'6 



THE HUDSON. 



Putnam retired from the terrible conflict amidst the huzzas of his com- 
panions in arms. He was severely wounded in the contest. His mittens 
were burned from his hands, and his legs, thighs, arms, and face wei^e 
di'eadfully blistered. For a month he was a suffering invalid in the hospital . 

Fort Edward was strengthened by the republicans, and properly 
garrisoned, when the revolution broke out in 1775. When General 
Burgoync, with his invading army of British regulars, hired Germans, 
French, Canadians, and Indians, appeared at the foot of Lake Champlain, 
General Philip Schuyler was the commander-in-chief of the republican 
army in the Northern Department. His head-quarters were at Fort Anne, 
and General St. Clair commanded the important post of Ticonderoga. In 
July, Burgoync came sweeping down the lake triumphantly. St. Clair 
fled from Ticonderoga, and his army was scattered and sorely smitten in 
the retreat. "When the British advanced to Skenesborough, at the head 
of the lake, Schuyler retreated to Fort Edward, felling trees across the 
old military road, demolishing tlie causew ays over the great Kingsbury 
marshes, and destroying the bridges, to obstruct the invader's progress. 
"With great labour and perseverance Burgoyne moved forward, and on the 
29th of July he encamped upon the high bank of the Hudso]i, nt the 
great bend where the village of Sandy Hill now stands. 

At this time a tragedy occurred near Fort Edward, Avhich produced a 
great sensation throughout the country, and has been a theme for history, 
poetry, romance, and song. It was the death of Jenny M'Crea, the 
daughter of a Scotch Presbyteiian clergyman, who is described as lovely 
in disposition, graceful in manners, and so intelligent and winning in all 
her ways, that she was a favourite of all who knew her. She was visiting 
a Tory friend at Fort Edward at this time, and was betrothed to a young 
man of the neighbourhood, who was a subaltern in Burgoyne's army. 
On the approach of the invaders, her brother, who lived near, fled, with 
his family, down the river, and desired Jenny to accompany them. She 
preferred to stay under the protection of her Tory friend, who was a 
widow, and a cousin of General Eraser, of Burgoyne's army. 

Burgoyne had found it difiicult to restrain the cruelty of liis Indians. 
To secure their co-operation he had ofl'ered them a bounty for prisoners 
and scalps, at the same time forbidding them to kill any person not in 



THE HUDSON. 



arms for the sake of scalps. The offer of bounties stimulated the savages 
to seek captives other than those in tlie field, and they went out in small 
parties for the purpose. One of these prowled around Fort Edward eaily 
on the morning after Burgoyne ari'ived at Sandy Hill, and, entering the 
house where Jenny was staving, carried awav th-^ voung ladv and her 




THB JESXr MTIiEA TREE. 



friend. A negro boy alarmed the garrison, and a detachment was sent 
after the Indians, who were fleeing with tlicir prisoners toward the camp. 
They had caught two horses, and on one of tliom Jenny was already 
placed by them, when the detachment assailed them with a volley of 



THE HUDSON. 



musketry. The savages were unharmed, but one of the bullets mortally 
wounded their fair captive. She fell and expired, as tradition relates, 
near a pine-tree, which remained as a memorial of the tragedy until a 
few years ago. Having lost their prisoner, they secured her scalp, and, 
with her black tresses wet with her warm blood, they hastened to the 
camp. The friend of Jenny had just arrived, and the locks of the maiden, 
which were of great length and beauty, were recognised by her. She 
c'harged the Indians with her murder, which they denied, and told the 
story substantially as it is here related. 

This appears, from corroborating circumstances, to be the simple truth 
of a story which, as it went from lip to lip, became magnified into a tale 
of darkest horror, and produced wide-spread indignation. General Gates, 
who had just superseded General Schuyler in the command of the northern 
army, took advantage of the excitement which it produced, to increase 
the hatred of the British in the hearts of the people, and he charged 
Burgoyne with crimes utterly foreign to that gentleman's nature. In a 
published letter, he accused him of hiring savages to "scalp Europeans 
and the descendants of Europeans;" spoke of Jenny as having been 
" dressed to meet her promised husband, but met her murderers," em- 
ployed by Burgoyne ; asserted that she, with several women and children, 
had been taken "from the house into the woods, and there scalped and 
mangled in a most shocking manner;" and alleged that he had "paid 
the price of blood!" This letter, so untruthful and ungenerous, was 
condemned by Gates's friends in the army. But it had the desired effect ; 
and the sad story of Jenny's death was used witli power against the 
ministry by the opposition in the British parliament. 

The lover of Jenny left the army, and settled in Canada, where he lived 
to be an old man. He was naturally gay and garrulous, but after that 
event he was ever sad and taciturn. He never married, and avoided 
society. When the anniversary of the tragedy approached, he would 
shut himself in his room, and refuse to see his most intimate acquaint- 
ances ; and at all times his friends avoided speaking of the American 
revolution in his presence. The body of Jenny was buried on her brother's 
land: it was re-interred at Fort Edward in 1826, with imposing cere- 
monies: and again in 1852, her remains found a new resting-place in a 



THE HUDSON. 



79 



beautiful cemetery, half-way between Fort Edward aud Sandv Hill. 
Her grave is near the entrance ; and upon a plain white marble stone, six 
feet in height, standing at its head, is the following inscription : — 

"Here rest the remains of Jane M'Crea, aged 17; made captive and 
murdered by a band of Indians, while on a visit to a relative in the neigh- 
bourhood, A.D. 1777. To commemorate one of the most thrilling incidents 
in the annals of the American revolution, to do justice to the fame of the 
gallant British officer to whom she was affianced, and as a simple tribute 




BAL>:-Or-GILEAl) TRJCK. 



to the memory of the departed, this stone is erected by her niece, Sarah 
Hanna Payne, a.d. 1852." 

No relic of the olden time now remains at Fort Edward, excepting a 
few logs of the fort on the edge of the river, some faint traces of the 
embankments, and a magnificent Balm-of-Gilead tree, which stood, a 
sapling, at the water-gate, when Putnam saved the magazine. It has 
three huge trunks, spri'nging from the roots. One of them is more than 
half decayed, having been twice riven by lightning within a few years. 
Upon Rogers' s Island, in front of the town, where armies were encamped. 



80 



THE HUDSON. 



and a large block-house stood, Indian arrow-heads, bullets, and occasionally 
a piece of " cob-money," •'' are sometimes upturned by the plough. 

A picture of the village of Fort Edward, in 1820, shows only six houses 
and a cliurch; now, as we have observed, it was a busy town with two 




VIEW AT lORT EDWARP. 

thousand inhabitants. Its chief industrial establishment was an extensive 
blast-furnace for converting iron ore into the pure metal. Upon rising 
ground, and overlooking the village and surrounding country, was a 
colossal educational establishment, called the Fort Edward Institute. 




^^^V:I 



formed the bulk of the ^pecie ciivulated among the French i 



* The old silver coins occasionally 
found at Fort Edward are called " cob- 
inoncy" by the people. I could not 
ascertain the derivation of the name. 
The pictuie represents both sides of two 
l)ieces in my possession, the proper size. 
The larger one is a cross-pistareen, of 
the value of about sixteen cents; the 
other is a quai-ter fraction of the same. 
They are irregular in form, and the 
devices and dates, respectively 1741 and 
1743, are imperfect. These Spanish coins 
Canada a hundred years ago. 



THE HUDSON. 



81 



The building was erected, and its affairs were controlled, by the Methodist 
denomination, and it was widely known as one of the most flourishing 
institutions of its kind in the country. The building was five stories in 
height, and was surrounded by pleasant grounds. It is seen in our view 
at Fort Edward, which was taken from the end of the bridge that con- 
nects Eogers's Island with the western shore of the Hudson, The blast- 
furnace, and a portion of the Fort Edward dam, built by the State for 
the use of the Champlain Canal, is also seen in the picture. 

A carriage-ride from Fort Edward down the valley of the Hudson, 




^^ 



especially on its western side, affords exquisite enjoyment to the lover of 
beautiful scenery and the displays of careful cultivation. The public 
road follows the river-bank nearly all the way to Troy, a distance of forty 
miles, and the traveller seldom loses sight of the noble stream, which is 
frequently divided by islands, some cultivated, and others heavily wooded. 
The most important of these, between Fort Edward and Schuylervillc, 
are Munro's, Bell's, Taylor's, Galusha's, and Payne's ; the third one con- 
taining seventy acres. The shores of the river are everywhere fringed 

31 



82 THE HUDSON. 



with beautiful shade-trees and shrubbery, and fertile lands spread out on 
every side. 

Seven miles below Fort Edward, on the western shore, is the site of 
Fort Miller, erected during the French and Indian war ; and opposite, at 
the head of foaming rapids, which afford fine water-power for mills, is 
the village of Fort Miller, then containing between two and three hun- 
di-ed inhabitants. Not a vestige of the fort remains. The river here 
rushes over a rough rocky bed, and falls fifteen or twenty feet in the 
course of eighty rods. Here was the scene of another of Putnam's adven- 
tures during the old war. He was out with a scouting party, and was 
lying alone in a batteau on the east side of the river, when he was sur- 
prised by some Indians ; he could not cross the river swiftly enough to 
escape the balls of their rifles, and there was no alternative but to go 
down the foaming rapids. He did not hesitate a moment. To the 
astonishment of the savages, he steered directly down the current, amid 
whirling eddies and over ragged and shelving rocks, and in a few moments 
his vessel had cleared the rushing waters, and was gliding upon the 
tranquil river below, fiir out of reach of their weapons. The Indians 
dared not make the perilous voyage : they regarded Putnam as God- 
protected, and believed that it would be an aff"ront to the Great Spirit to 
make further attempts to kill him with powder and ball. 



CHAPTER V. 




} I )Il tlie twofold purpose of affording water-power 
for mills, and providing still water for the boats 
of the Champlain Canal to cross, the Saratoga 
Dam is constructed at Fort Miller, three miles 
below the rapids. The dam forms an elbow 
in the middle of the stream, and is about 1,400 
feet in length. Below it are considerable 
rapids ; just above it is a bridge, which has a 
carriage-way for the public use, and a narrower 
passage for the horses that draw the canal boats. 
These vessels float' safely on the usually still 
water of the river, but sometimes, when the 
stream is very full, the passage is attended with some difficulty, if not 
danger, on account of the strong though sluggish current. When we 
visited the spot, a large-class boat lay wrecked in the rapids below, 
having gone over the dam the day before. 

•The country in this vicinity is beautiful : the valley is narrow, and the 
hills, on the eastern side especially, rise one above the other in the land- 
scape, until the view is bounded by a broken mountain range beyond. 
Here we crossed the river upon the canal bridge, and rode down to the 
mouth of the Batten-Kill, near where it enters the Hudson, to visit the 
spot— on the plain just above its mouth — where the army of Burgoyne 
lay encamped, before he crossed the Hudson to engage in those conflicts 
at Bemis's Heights, which resulted in his discomfiture and captivity. 
There he established a slaughter-yard ; and it is said that the fertility 
imparted to the soil by the blood and offal left there was visible in its 
effects upon the crops raised thereon for more than sixty years afterwards. 
The Batten-Kill is a shallow and rapid stream, and one of the largest 
of the tributaries of the Hudson, flowing in from the eastward. It rises 



84 



THE HUDSON. 



ill the State of Ycrmont, and, before leaving the borders of that common- 
wealth, receives the Eoaring branch : its entire length is about fifty miles. 
Within two miles of its mouth are remarkable rapids and falls, which 
the tourist should never pass by unseen : the best point of view is from 
the bottom of a steep precipice on the southern side of the stream. The 
descent is fifty or sixty feet, very difiicult, and somewhat dangerous. It 
was raining copiously when we visited it, which made the descent still 
more difficult, for the loose slate and the small sparse shrubbery were 





CAXAL BRIDGE ACROSS THE HUDSON ABOVE THE SARATOGA DAM. 



very insecure. Under a shelving black rock on the margin of the abyss 
into which the waters pour, we found a good place for observation. The 
spectacle was grand. For about three hundred feet above the great fall, 
the stream rushes through a narrow rocky chasm, roaring and foaming ; 
and then, in a still narrower space, it leaps into the dark gulf which has 
been named the Devil's Caldron, in a perpendicular fall of almost forty 
feet. The Indians named these falls Di-on-on-deh-o-ica, the signification 
of which we could not learn. 

From the Bi-on-on-deh-o-ica we rode to Schuylerville, crossing the 



THE HUDSON. 



85 



Hudson upon a bridge eight hundred feet in length, just below the site of 
old Fort Hardy, and the place where Burgoyne's army laid down their 
arms. Prom the Tillage we went up the western side of the river about 
a mile, and from a slight eminence obtained a fine view of the scene where 
the Batten-Kill enters the Hudson in two channels, having a fairy-like 
island between them. The river is there about six hundred feet in width, 
and quite deep. 

Upon the slope opposite the mouth of the Batten-Kill is the house of 




co^^LUE^cE oi ihl iild'^on 4.m> baiter-kill 



Samuel Marshall, known as the Eeidesel House, There, eleven years 
before, the writer visited an old lady, ninety-two years of age, who gave 
him many interesting details of the old war in that vicinity : she died at 
the age of ninety-six. This house was made famous in the annals of 
Burgoyne's unfortunate campaign by a graphic account of sufferings 
therein, given by the Baroness Eeidesel, wife of the Brunswick general 
who commanded the German troops in the British army. She, with her 
children and domestics, and a few other women, and wounded officers, 
took refuge in this house from the storm of irregular conflict. The 
Americans, supposing the British generals were in that house, opened a 



8G 



THE HUDSON. 



cannonade upon it, and all the inmates took refuge in the cellar. " The 
ladies of the army who "were with me," says the Baroness, "were 
Mrs. Harnage, a Mrs. Xenncls, the widow of a lieutenant who was 
killed, and the lady of the commissary. Major Harnage, his wife, and 
Mrs. Kennels, made a little room in a corner, with curtains to it, and 
wished to do the same for me, hut I preferred heing near the door, in case 




of firo. Not far off my women slept, and opposite to me three English 
officers, who, though wounded, were determined not to he left behind : 
one of them was Captain Green, an aide-de-camp to Major-General Phillips, 
a very valuable officer and most agreeable man. They each made me a 
most sacred promise not to leave me behind, and, in case of sudden retreat, 
that they would each of them take one of my children on his horse ; and 



THE HUDSON. 



87 



for myself one of my husband's was in constant readiness The 

want of water distressed us much : at length we found a soldier's Avife 




THE EEIDESEL HOUSE. 



who had courage enough to fetch us some from the river — an office nobody 
else would undertake, as the Americans shot at every person who 
approached it, but out of respect for her sex they never molested her." 




CELLAR OF EEIDESEL HOUSE. 



Six days these ladies and their companions remained in that cellar, when 
hostilities ceased, and the British army surrendered to the Americans. 



88 



THE HUDSON. 



The village of Sclmylerville is pleasantly situated upon a slope on the 
western margin of the Tipper Hudson valley, on the north bank of the 
rish Creek (the outlet of Saratoga Lake), which there leaps to the plain 
in a series of beautiful cascades, after being released from the labour of 
turning several mill-wheels. These cascades or rapids commence at the 
bridge where the public road crosses the creek, and continue for many 
rods, until a culvert under the Champlain Canal is passed. Viewed from 
the grounds around the Schuyler mansion, at almost every point, they 




KAPIDS OF THE FISH CREEK, AT SCHUYLEEVILLE. 



present very perfect specimens of a picturesque water-course, having 
considerable strength and volume. 

The village, containing about twelve hundred inhabitants, occupies the 
site of General Burgoyne's intrenched camp, at the time when he sur- 
rendered to General Gates, in the autumn of 1777. It was named in 
lionour of General Philip Schuyler, upon whose broad domain of Saratoga, 
and in whose presence, the last scenes in that memorable campaign were 
performed, and who, for forty years, was a conspicuous actor in civil and 
military life in his native State of New York. 



THE HUDSON. 89 



Upon one of the conical hills on the opposite side of the valley, just 
below the Batten-Kill, was old Fort Saratoga, written Sarahtogue in the 
old records. It was a stockade, weakly garrisoned, and, with the scattered 
village of thirty families, of the same name, upon the plain below, was 
destroyed in the autumn of 1745, by a horde of Frenchmen and Indians, 
under the noted partisan Marin, whose followers, as we have seen, per- 
formed a sanguinary tragedy at Sandy Hill ten years later. They had 
left Montreal for the purpose of making a foray upon some English settle- 
ments on the Connecticut river. It was late in the season, and at Crown 
Point, on Lake Champlain, the Indians refused to go eastward, because of 
their lack of preparations for the rigour of winter. On the suggestion of 
Father Piquet, the French Prefect Apostolique of Canada, who met the 
expedition at Crown Point, Marin led his white and red savages south- 
ward, towards Orange, as Albany was then called by the French, to cut 
off the advancing English settlements, and bear away what plunder they 
might obtain. Father Piquet accompanied them, and the invaders fell 
upon the inhabitants when they were asleep. They burnt the fort and 
most of the houses, murdered some who resisted, and carried away captive 
over one hundred men, women, and children. 

Upon the south side of the Fish Creek, on the margin of the rapids, 
stood a brick mansion, pierced near the roof for musketryj and owned and 
occupied by a kinsman of General Schuyler, bearing the same name. His 
house was attacked, and in an attempt to defend it he was shot. His 
body was consumed, with other persons who had escaped to the cellar, 
when, after plundering the house, the savages set it on fire. That Saratoga 
estate was bequeathed by the murdered owner to his nephew Philip (the' 
General), who built a country mansion, elegant for the times, near the 
site of the old one, and occupied it when Burgoyne invaded the valley in 
1777. During that invasion the general's house and mills were burned 
by Burgoyne's orders. It was an act which the British general afterwards 
lamented, for he soon learned to honour Schuyler as one of the noblest 
men he had ever met. The mansion was rebuilt immediately after the 
campaign was over, a few rods from the site of the old one, but in a style 
much inferior in beauty and expense. It was the general's country-seat 
(his town residence being in Albany) until his death in 1804, and was 



90 



THE HUDSON. 



still preserved in its original form at the time of our visit, and surrounded 
by beautiful shady trees, many of vs^hich werd^lanted by the master's 
own hand. It was then the residence of George Strover, Esq., who took 
pleasure in preserving it as General Schuyler left it. Even some ancient 
lilac shrubs, now quite lofty trees, gnarled and unsightly, that were in 
the garden of the old mansion, were cherished as precious mementoes of 
the past. 

An outline sketch of events to which allusion has just been made is 




SCHUYLER MANSION. 



necessary to a full comprehension of the isolated historical facts with 
which this portion of our subject abounds. We will trace it with 
rapid pencil, and leave the completion of tlic picture to the careful 
historian. 

The campaigns of 1775 and 1776, against the rebellious Americans, 
were fruitless of any satisfactory results. The British cabinet, supported 
by heavy majorities in both Houses of Parliament, resolved to open the 
campaign of 1777 with such vigour, and to give to the service in America 
such material, as should not fail to put down the rebellion by midsummer. 



THE HUDSON. 91 



So long as the EepuLlicans remained imitetl, so long as there existed a 
free communication hetween Massachusetts and Virginia, or, in other 
words, between the Eastern and the Middle and Southern States, permanent 
success of the British arms in America seemed questionable. The rebellion 
was hydra-headed, springing into new life and vigour suddenly and 
powerfully, from the inherent energies of union, in places where it seemed 
to be subdued or destroyed. To sever that. union, and to paralyse the 
vitality dependent thereon, Avas a paramount consideration of the British 
Government when planning the campaign of 1777. 

General Sir William Howe was then in quiet possession of the city of 
New York, at the mouth of the Hudson river. A strong British force 
occupied Rhode Island, and kept watch over the whole eastern coast of 
New England. Republicans who had invaded Canada had been driven 
back by Governor Carleton ; and nothing remained to complete the separa- 
tion of the two sections of the American States, but to march an invading 
army from Canada, secure the strongholds upon Lakes George and Cham- 
plain, press forward to Albany, and there form a junction with Howe, 
whose troops, meanwhile, should have taken possession of the Hudson 
Highlands, and every place of importance upon that river. 

The leadership of that invasion from the North was intrusted to 
Lieutenant-General Sir John Burgoyne, who had won military laurels in 
Portugal, had held a seat in the king's council, and was then a member 
of Parliament. He arrived at Quebec in March, 1777, and in June had 
collected a large force of English and German troops, Canadians, and 
Indians, at the foot of Lake Champlain. At the beginning of July he 
invested Ticonderoga with ten thousand men, drove the Americans from 
that old fortress and its dependencies, and, as we have observed, swept 
victoriously up the lake to Skenesborough, and advanced to Fort Edward. 
From that point he sent a detachment to Bennington, in Vermont, to 
seize cattle and provisions for the use of the array. The expedition was 
defeated by militia, under Stark, and thereby Burgoyne received a blow 
from which he did not recover. Yet he moved forward, crossed the Hudson 
a little above Schuylerville, and pitched his tents, and formed a fortified 
camp upon the site of that village. He had stated at Fort Edward that 
he should eat his Christmas dinner in Albany, a laurelled conqueror, with 



92 THE HUDSON. 



the great objects of the campaign perfectly accomplished ; but now he 
began to doubt. 

General Schuyler had been the commander of the troops opposed to 
Burgoyne until the 19th of August, when he surrendered his charge to 
General Gates, a conceited officer, very much his inferior in every par- 
ticular. This supersedure had been accomplished by political intrigue. 

"When Burgoyne crossed the Hudson, Gates, then at the mouth of the 
Mohawk, advanced with his troops to Bemis's Height, about twelve miles 
below the halting British army, and there established a fortified camp. 
Perceiving the necessity of immediate hostile action — because the Repub- 
lican army was hourly augmenting (volunteers flocking in from all 
quarters, and particularly from Is'ew England) — Burgoyne crossed the 
Fish Creek, burned the mills and mansion of General Schuyler, and 
advanced upon Gates. 

A severe but indecisive battle was fought at Bemis's Heights on the 
1 9th of September ; Burgoyne fell back a few miles toward his intrenched 
camp, and resolved there to await the expected approach of Sir Henry 
Clinton, with a large force, up the lower Hudson. Clinton was tardy, 
perils were thickening, and Burgoyne resolved to make another attack 
upon Gates. After a severe battle fought on the 7th of October, upon 
almost the same ground occupied in the engagement on the 19th of Sep- 
tember, he was again compelled to fall back. He finally retreated to his 
intrenched camp beyond the Fish Creek. 

Burgoyne's force was now hourly diminishing, the Canadians and 
Indians deserting him in great numbers, while volunteers were swelling 
the ranks of Gates. The latter now advanced upon Burgoyne, and, on 
the 17th of October, that general surrendered his army of almost six 
thousand men, and all its appointments, into the hands of the Eepublicans. 
The forts upon Lakes George and Champlain were immediately abandoned 
by the British, and the Republicans held an unobstructed passage from 
the Hudson Highlands to St. John, on the Sorel, in Canada. 

The spot where Burgoyne's army laid down their arms is upon the 
plain in front of Schuylerville, near the site of old Fort Hardy, a little 
north of the highway leading from the village across the Hudson, over 
the long bridge already mentioned. Our view is taken from one of the 



THE HUDSON. 



93 



canal bridges, looking north-east. The Hudson is seen beyond the place 
of surrender, and in the more remote distance may be observed the conical 
hills which, on the previous day, had swarmed with American volunteers. 
"With the deKcate courtesy of a gentleman. General Gates ordered all 
his army within his camp, that the vanquished might not be submitted to 
the mortification of their gaze at the moment of the great humiliation. 
The two generals had not yet seen each other. As soon as the troops had 
laid down their arms, Burgoyne and his officers proceeded towards Gates's 




SCENE OF BUKGOYNE'S SUEEENDEH. 



camp, to be introduced. They crossed the Pish Creek at the head of the 
rapids, and proceeded towards the republican general's quarters, about a 
mile and a-half down the river. Burgoyne led the way, with Kingston 
(his adjutant-general), and his aides-de-camp, Captain Lord Petersham 
and Lieutenant Wilford, followed by Generals Phillips, Reidesel, and 
Hamilton, and other ofiicers, according to rank. General Gates, informed 
of the approach of Burgoyne, went out with his staff to meet him at the 
head of his camp. Burgoyne was dressed in a rich uniform of scarlet and 
gold, and Gates in a plain blue frock coat. "When within about a sword's 



94 



THE HUDSON. 



length of each other, they reined np their horses, and halted. Colonel 
Wilkinson, Gates's aide-de-camp, then introduced the two generals. Both 
dismounted, and Burgoyne, raising his hat gracefully, said — "The 
fortune of war. General Gates, has made me your prisoner." The victor 
promptly replied — ''I shall always be ready to bear testimony that it 
has not been through any fault of your excellency." The other officers 
were then introduced in turn, and the whole party repaired to Gates's 
head-quarters, where the best dinner that could be procured was served. 
The plain farmhouse in which that remarkable dinner-party was 




assembled remained unaltered externally when we visited it, excepting 
such changes as have been effected by necessary repairs. It stood about 
eighty rods from the Hudson, on the western margin of the plain ; and 
between it and the river the Champlain Canal passed. Our sketch was 
made from the highway, and includes glimses of the canal, the river, and 
the hills on the eastern side of the plain. 

The Baroness Reidesel, in her narrative of these events, says : "I was, 
I confess, afraid to go over to the enemy, as it Avas quite a new situation 



THE HUDSON. 95 



to me. When I drew near the tents, a handsome man approached and 
met me, took my children from the caUche, and hugged and kissed them, 
which affected me almost to tears. 'You tremble,' said he, addressing 
himself to me; 'be not afraid.' 'No,' I answered, ' you seem so kind 
and tender to my children, it inspires me with courage.' He now led me 
to the tent of General Gates, where I found Generals Burgoyne and Phillips, 
who were on a friendly footing with the former. 

"All the generals remained to dine with General Gates. The same 
gentleman who received me so kindly, now came and said to me, ' You 
will be very much embari-assed to eat with all those gentlemen ; come 
with your children to my tent, where I will prepare for you a frugal 
dinner, and give it with a free will.' I said, ' You are certainly a husband 
and a father, you have shown me so much kindness.' I now found that 
he was Geneeal Schfylee. He treated me with excellent smoked tongue, 
beef-steaks, potatoes, and good bread and butter. Never could I have 
wished to eat a better dinner. I was content ; I saw all around me were 
so likewise. When we had dined, he told me his residence was at Albany, 
and that General Burgoyne intended to honour him as his guest, and 
invited myself and children to do so likewise. I asked my husband how 
I should act; he told me to accept the invitation." General Schuyler's 
house at Albany yet remains, and there we shall hereafter meet the 
Baroness and Burgoyne, as guests of that truly noble republican. 

The Hudson, from Schuylerville to Stillwater, a distance of about 
thirteen miles, flows through a rich plain, and its course is unbroken by 
island, rapid, or bridge. Between it and the western margin of the plain 
is the Champlain Canal, bearing upon its quiet bosom the wealth of a 
large internal commerce, extending from New York and Albany to Canada. 
It was spanned, for the convenience of the farmers through whose land it 
passes, with numerous bridges, stiff and ungraceful in appearance, and all 
of the same model. A picture of one of them is given at the head of this 
chapter. The river was also crossed in several places by means of rope 
ferries. These, at times, presented quite picturesque scenes, when men 
and women, teams, live stock, and merchandize, happen to constitute the 
freight at one time. The vehicle was a large scow or battcau, which was 
pushed by means of long poles, that reached to the bottom of the river ; 



THE HUDSON. 



and it was kept in its course, in defiance of the current, by ropes fore and 
aft, attached by friction rollers to a stout cable stretched across the stream. 
There were several of these ferries between Fort Edward and Stillwater, 
the one most used being that at Bemis's Heights, of which we give a 
drawing. 

Three miles below SchuylerviUe, on the same side of the river, is the 
hamlet of Coveville, formerly called Do-ve-gat, or Yan Yechten's Cove. 
It is a pretty, quiet little place, and sheltered by hills in the rear ; the 



^& 




EOPE FEBRY. 



inhabitants are chiefly agriculturists, and the families of those employed 
in canal navigation. Here Eurgoyne halted, and encamped for two days, 
after leaving his intrenched camp to confront Gates, while a working 
party repaired the roads and bridges in advance to Wilbur's Basin, three 
miles below. He then advanced, and pitched his tents at the latter place, 
upon the narrow plain between the river and the hills, and upon the 
slopes. Here he also encamped on the morning after the first battle at 
Bemis's Heights, the opening of a cloudy, dull, and cheerless day, that 
harmonised with the feelings of the British commander. He felt con- 



THE HUDSON. 



97 



vinced that, -without the aid of General Clinton's co-operation in drawing 
off a part of the republican army to the defence of the country below, he 
should not be able to advance. Yet he wrought diligently in strengthening 
his position. He erected four redoubts, one upon each of four hills, two 
above and two below "Wilbur's Basin, and made lines of intrenchments 
from them to the river, covering each with a battery. From this camp 
he marched to battle on the 7th of October, and in that engagement lost 




buegoyne's ENCAMi>ME>r (tiom a iiint lul I Ik I in Liiidor, in 1779) 



his gallant friend. General Simon Fraser, who, at the head of five hundred 
picked men, was the directing spirit of the British troops in action. This 
was perceived by the American commanders, for Fraser's skill and courage 
were everywhere conspicuous. When the lines gave way, he brought 
order out of confusion ; when regiments began to waver, he infused 
courage into them by voice and example. He was mounted upon a 
splendid iron-grey gelding, and dressed in the full uniform of a field 
officer. He was thus made a conspicuous object for the mark of the 
Americans. 

It was evident that the fate of the battle depended upon General Fraser, 



THE HUDSON. 



and this the keen eye and quick judgment of Colonel Morgan, commander 
of a rifle corps from the south, perceived. A thought flashed through his 
brain, and in an instant he prepared to execute a deadly purpose. Calling 
a file of his best men around him, he said, as he pointed toward the 
British right wing, which was making its way victoriously, — " That 
gallant officer is General Eraser; I admire and honour him, but it is 
necessary he should die ; victory for the enemy depends upon him. Take 
your stations in that clump of bushes, and do your duty." "Within five 
minutes after this order was given. General Fraser fell, and was carried 



- -J-^^- 




HOUSE I.\ WUICII GENERAL TEASh 



from the field by two grenadiers. His aide-de-camp had just observed 
that the general was a particular mark for the enemy, and said, — "Would 
it not be prudent for you to retire from this place?" Fraser replied, 
"My duty forbids me to fly from danger," and the next moment he fell. 
About half way between "Wilbur's Basin' and Bemis's, stood, until 
within twenty years, a rude building, the upper half somewhat projecting, 
and every side of it battered and pierced by bullets. It was used by 
Burgoyne as his quarters when he first moved forward to attack Gates, 



THE HUDSON. 



99 



and there the Baron Eeiclesel had his quarters at the time of the battle of 
the 7th of October. Thither the wounded Eraser was conveyed by his 
grenadiers, and consigned to the care of the wife of the Brunswick 
general. 

''About four o'clock in the afternoon," says the baroness, "instead of 
the guests [Burgoyne and Phillips] whom I expected to dinner, General 
Fraser was brought on a litter mortally wounded. The table, which was 
already set, was instantly removed, and a bed placed in its stead for the 
wounded general. He said to the surgeon, ' Tell me if my wound is 




teaser's BIIEIAL-PLACE. 



mortal ; do not flatter me.' The ball had passed through his body, and, 
unhappily for the general, he had eaten a very hearty breakfast, by which 
the stomach was distended, and the ball, as the surgeon said, had passed 
through it. I often heard him exclaim, with a sigh, ' fatal ambition ! 
Poor General Burgoyne ! my dear wife ! ' He was asked if he had any 
request to make, to which he replied, that, if General Burgoyne would 
permit it, he should like to be buried at six o'clock in the evening, on the 
top of a mount, in a redoubt which had been built there." 



100 



THE HUDSON. 



General Fraser died at eight o'clock the following morning, and was 
buried in the redoubt upon the hill at six o'clock that evening, according 
to his desire.* It was just at sunset, on a mild October evening, when 
the funeral procession moved slowly up the hill, bearing the body of the 
gallant dead. It was composed of only the members of his own military 
family, the commanding generals, and Mr. "Brudcnell, the chaplain ; yet 
the eyes of hundi-eds of both armies gazed upon the scene. The Americans, 




NEILSON'S HOISE, BEMIS'S HEIGHTS. 



ignorant of the true character of the procession, kept up a constant can- 
nonade upon the redoubt, toward which it was moving. Undismayed, 
the companions of Fraser buried him just as the evening shadows came 
on. Before the impressive burial services of the Anglican Church were 
ended, the irregular firing ceased, and the solemn voice of a single canon, 
at measured intervals, boomed along the valley, and awakened responses 
from the hills. It was a minute-gun, fired by the Americans in honour 



» The redoubt \va 
encampment. 



upon the middle one of tlie three liills seen in the picture of Biu-goyi 



THE HUDSON. 



101 



of the accomplished soldier. When information reached the Republicans 
that the gathering at the redoubt was a funeral company, fulfilling the 
wishes of a brave officer, the cannonade Avith balls instantly ceased. 

Other gallant British officers were severely wounded on that day ; one 
of these was the accomplished Major Ackland, of the grenadiers, who was 
accompanied in the campaign by his charming wife, the Lady Harriet, 
fifth daughter of Stephen, first Earl of Ilchester, and great-grandmother 
of the present Earl of Carnarvon. He was shot through both legs, and 
conveyed to the house of Mr. Neilson, upon Bemis's Heights, within the 
American lines. 




CHAPTER YI. 




jHE heroic Lady Ackland had listened to the thunder of 
the battle in which her hushand was engaged, and 
when, on the morning of the 8th, the British fell back 
in confusion toward Wilbur's Basin, she, with the 
other women, was obliged to take refuge among the 
dead and dying, for the tents were all struck, and hardly a shed 
was left standing. Then she was informed that her husband was 
wounded and a prisoner. She instantly sought the advice of her 
°' friend, the Baroness Reidesel, and resolved to visit the American 
camp, and implore the privilege of a personal attendance upon her husband. 
She sent a message by Lord Petersham to Burgoyne, asking his permission 
to depart. The general was astonished that, after all she had endured 
from exposure to cold, hunger, and heavy rain, she should be capable of 
such an undertaking. " The assistance I was enabled to give," he said, 
" was small indeed. I had not even a cup of wine to offer her; but I 
was told she had found, from some kind and fortunate hand, a little rum 
and dii'ty water. All I could furnish to her was an open boat, and a few 
lines written upon dirty wet paper, to General Gates, recommending her 
to his protection." * 

Lady Harriet set out in an open boat on the Hudson, accompanied by 
Chaplain Brudenell, her waiting-maid, and her husband's valet, who had 



* The following is a copy of Burgoyne's note to Gates :— 

Sir,— Lady Harriet Ackland, a lady of the first distinction of family, rank, and personal virtues, is 
under such concern on account of Major Ackland, her husband, wounded and a prisoner in your hands, 
that I cannot refuse her request to commit her to your protection. Whatever general impropriety there 
may be in persons of my situation and yours to sohcit favours, I cannot see the uncommon perseverance 
in eveiy female grace and exaltation of character of this lady, and her very hard fortune, without 
testifying that your attention to her will lay me under obligations. 

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 

J. Burgoyne. 
Tliis note is preseiTed among Gates's manuscript papers, in fho collection of the New York Historical 
Society. 



THE HUDSON. 



103 



been severely wounded wliile searching for his master on the battle-field. 
They started at sunset, in the midst of a violent storm of wind and rain. 
It was long after dark when they reached the American outposts, and 
there they were detained, in a comfortable position, until orders should 
be received from head-quarters. Early in the morning she received the 
joyful tidings that her husband was safe. At the same time she was 
treated with paternal kindness by General Gates, who sent her to her 
husband at Neilson's house, under a suitable escort. She found him 
suftcring, but well taken care of, in the portion of the house occupied as 




BOOM OCCUPIKD BY MAJOB ACKXAND. 



quarters by General Poor, and there she remained until Major Ackland 
was removed to Albany, and finally to New York.'*' 

From the house of Mr. Neilson, whose descendants now occupy it, a 
fine view of the surrounding countiy may be obtained. On the north and 
west, beginning at its very doors, lies the entire battle-ground of the 19th 
of September ; and bounding the horizon in the distance beyond, are the 
Luzerne Mountains (already mentioned), through which flow the waters 
of the Upper Hudson. On the east rise Willard's Mountain, the heights 
of Bennington, the Green Mountains, and the famous Mount Tom ; and 
stretching away in the blue distances towards Albany, are seen the gentle 
hills and beautiful valley of the Hudson. And there the visitor may see 



* Major Ackland died in November, 1778. On her return to England, a portrait of Lady Harriet, 
standing in a boat, with a white handkerchief in her hand as a tlag of truce, was exliibited at the Boyal 
Academy (London), from which a plate was afterwards engraved. The person of her ladyship was 
spoken of as " highly graceful and delicate," and her manners " elegantly feminine." 



104 



THE HUDSON. 



many relics from the battle-field, turned up by the plough, such as 
cannon-balls, bullets, Indian tomahawks and knives, rusty musket barrels, 
bayonets, halberds, military buttons, pieces of money, et csetera. 

At the foot of Bcmis's Heights, where the old tavern of Bemis — 
famous for good wines and long pipes, a spacious ball-room and a rich 
larder — once stood, a pleasant hamlet has grown up. It is one of the 
numerous offsprings of the canal. Two miles below it, at the head of 
long rapids, is Stillwater, the most pleasing in situation and appearance 
of all the villages in the valley of the Upper Hudson. It is otherwise 
remarkable only for a long, gloomy, and unsightly covered toll-bridge, 
which, resting upon several huge piers, spans the Hudson ; and also as 




EELICS TEOM THE BATTLE-FIELD. 



the head-quarters of the republican army, for a short time, in the summer 
of 1777, after they had retreated down the valley before victorious 
Burgoyne. The house of Derrick Swart, where General Schuyler had 
his quarters at that time, was yet standing in the upper part of the village, 
and awakened in the mind of the historical student recollections of a scene 
that occurred there at a most gloomy period of the campaign. The army, 
wretchedly furnished and daily diminishing, had retreated before an 
exultant foe; food, clothing, and artillery were all wanting. The 
pecuniary resources and public credit of the continental congress were 
failing, and all the future seemed dark. At that moment intelligence 
came that Colonel St. Lcger, who had been sent up the St. Lawrence by 
Burgoyne, with instructions to cross Lake Ontario to Oswego, penetrate 



THE HUDSON. 



105 



tlie Mohawk valley from that point, form an alliance with the Tories antl 
Indians, and press forward to Albany with destructive energy, had actually 
appeared before Port Schuyler, where the village of Eome now stands. 
The people of the Mohawk valley were wild with consternation, and sent 
swift messengers to General Schuyler, imploring immediate assistance. 
The prudent foresight and far-reaching humanity of that officer at once 
dictated his course. He called a council of officers at his quarters, and 
proposed sending a detachment immediately to the relief of Port Schuyler. 








DERRICK SWART'S HOUSE AT STILLWATER. 



They opposed him with the argument that his whole force was insufficient 
to stay the progress of Burgoyne. Schuyler persisted in his opinion, and 
earnestly besought them to second his views. His political enemies had 
already sown the seeds of distrust concerning his intentions ; and as he 
was pacing the floor in anxious solicitude, he heard fi'om one of his 
subordinate officers the half- whispered remark, " He means to weaken 
the army." Never was a thought more unjust and ungenerous ! Wheeling 
suddenly toward the slanderer and those around him, and unconsciously 
biting into several pieces a pipe that he was smoking, Schuyler indignantly 

V 



106 



THE HUDSON. 



exclaimed, "Gentlemen, I shall take the responsibility upon myself; 
where is the brigadier that will take command of the relief ? I shall 
beat up for volunteers to-morrow." 

The brave and impulsive Arnold, who afterwards became a traitor, at 
once stepped forward. The next morning, when the drum beat for 
volunteers, no less than eight hundred strong men offered their services. 
They were enrolled ; Fort Schuyler was saved, and the forces of St. Leger 
scattered to the winds. In after years the recollection of those burning 
words of calumny always stirred the spiiit of the veteran patriot with 
violent emotions ; for if ever a bosom glowed with true devotion to his 
country, it was that of Philip Schuyler. 

From Stillwater to Troy at the head of free sloop navigation, a distance 
of about sixteen miles, the Hudson flows in a rapid stream, sometimes 
turbulent, but generally with a placid current. The valley, maintaining 
the same average width and general aspect, becomes richer in numerous 
farm-houses and more careful cultivation as we approach the cluster of 
large towns whose church spires may be seen soon after leaving Mechanics- 
ville t.nd Half-Moon, two pleasant little villages on the west bank of the 
Hudson. These are in the township of Half-Moon, so called in memory 
of Hcndrick Hudson's famous yacht, in which he discovered the river 
that bears his name. They are a short distance below Stillwater. The 
Champlain Canal and the Eensselacr and Saratoga llailway pass through 
them. On the site of the latter village stood " y*^ fibrt of y° Half-Moon, 
about j^ house and barne of Harm® Lieves*^ " — a stockade for defence 
against the Indians. It was removed in the year 1689. 

The summer drive upon the public road in this part of the valley is 
delightful. The plain and slopes have the appearance of a garden ; while 
the hills on both sides present sweet pictures of mingled forest and culti- 
vated fields, enlivened by small flocks and herds, and dotted with the 
homes of a thrifty people. But the river appears solitary. Not a boat 
may be seen upon it, until "Waterford is passed, for the current is too 
swift for navigation. **The water in the river here," wrote Kalm, the 
Swedish naturalist and traveller, in his journal, more than one hundred 
years ago, "was very clear, and generally shallow, being only from two 
to four feet deep, running very violently against us in most places." 



THE HUDSON. 



107 



Between Mechanicsville and "Waterford, near the junction of two rail- 
ways, the viaduct of the Vermont Central Eailroad, twelve hundred feet 
in length, stretches across the Hudson. It is constructed of square 
timber, and rests upon hcaAy stone piers, besides the shore abutments. 
From that point to "Waterford, the river views from the highway are very 
picturesque, and when within half a mile of that large village upon Half- 
Moon Point, at a bend in the stream, the traveller obtains a sight of 
"Waterford and Lansingburgh, on opposite sides of the river, with the 





VIADUCT OF THE VERMONT CENTRAL RAILWAY. 

covered toll-bridge that connects them. The church spires of Troy are 
also seen, and in dim blue outline, in the extreme southern horizon, 
appear the higher spurs of the Katzbergs, or Catskill Mountains. 

Waterford is a very pleasant town, at the confluence of the Mohawk 
and Hudson rivers, and had then a little more than three thousand 
inhabitants. It stands upon the level bank of the Hudson. Most of its 
streets are fringed with the maple and elm, the favourite shade trees 
in the northern and eastern villages and cities of the United States. It 
is a young town, compared with Lansingburgh, its still more pleasant 



108 



THE HUDSON. 



nciglibour across tlie river, which was dignified with the title of New 
City as early as 1788, when its now stately rival, Troy, could not boast 
of half-a-dozen houses, and wa? known only as Yanderheyden, or Ashley's 
Ferry. It has outstripped that older town in population, and equals it 
in enterprise. Between them the current of the Hudson is strong, yet 
vessels laden with merchandise ascend to the wharves of each, with the 




WATEKFORD AND LANSINGBUEGH BRIDGE. 

aid of small steam-tugs, which tow them from the draw of the great 
bridge at Troy, two miles below. 

At AVaterford the ear catches the subdued roar of Cohoes Falls '^' in the 
Mohawk river, three-fourths of a mile distant. That stream is the largest 
tributary of the Hudson. It flows eastward, with a rapid current most 
of the way, from Oneida County, in the interior of the State of New 
York, through one of the richest agricultural regions in the world, for 
about one hundred and thirty-five miles, and enters the Hudson in four 



* Cah-hoos, an Iroquois word, according to Brant, the gi-eat Mohawk chief, signifying a canoe 
falling. 



THE HUDSON. 109 



channels, formed by three islands, named respectively, Van Hover's, Van 
Schaick's, or Cohoes, and Green or Tibbett's Islands. Van Schaick's 
alone, which is almost inaccessible at many points, because of its high 
rocky shores, has escaped the transforming hand of improvement. There, 
in the summer of 1777, General Schuyler cast up some fortifications, with 
the determination to dispute with Burgoyne the jpassage of the Mohawk. 
Faint traces of those intrenchments may yet be seen ; and, in the spring of 
1860, a large zinc cartridge-box was found in that vicinity, supposed to 
have been left when General Schuyler moved northward. The banks of 
Van Schaick's are steep, a forest of evergreens clothes a large portion of its 
surface, and only a solitary barn indicates its cognizance by man. 

Green Island, the larger of the three, stretches along the upper part of 
Troy, and is a theatre of industry for a busy population, engaged chiefly 
in manufactures, or in employments connected with railways. There 
was the immense establishment of Messrs. Eaton, Gilbert, & Co, (after- 
ward destroyed by fire), the most extensive manufacturers of railway 
carriages, omnibuses, and stage coaches in the United States, if not in the 
world. 

The scenery about the mouth of the Mohawk, particularly in the 
vicinity of Cohoes Falls, is exceedingly picturesque, and at some points 
really grand. A highway bridge, nine hundred feet in length, and a 
railway viaduct still longer, cross the river over the rapids a short distance 
below the falls. From tlie former, a fine distant view of the cataract and 
the rapids below may be obtained ; but the best places to observe them in 
all their beauty and grandeur, are at and near the Cataract House, in the 
village of Cohoes, which stands upon the summit verge of a precipice one 
hundred and seventy feet in height. Down a steep slope of that precipice, 
for about fifty feet, the proprietor has constructed a flight of steps, and 
upon the top of a broad terrace at their foot he has planted a flower garden, 
for the enjoyment of visitors. Around its edge, from which may be 
obtained a view of the entire cataract, is a railing with seats, and there 
the visitor may contemplate at ease the wild scene on every hand. On 
his left, as he gazes up the river, rush large streams of water from the 
top of the precipice above him, in almost perpendicular currents, from the 
waste-sluices of a canal, which, commencing at a dam almost two miles 



110 



THE HUDSON. 



above the falls, conveys water to numerous mill-wlieels in the village. 
By this means immense hydraulic power is obtained and distributed.* 




VIKW AT COnOES FALLS. 



The width of the grand cataract of Cohoes is nine hundred feet, and 
the fall seventy-eight feet, of which about forty are perpendicular. 



* The water-power at Cohoes was under the control of a stock company, who rented it to the pro- 
prietors of mills and factories. The entu-e fall of water controlled by the company was one hundred and 
twenty feet ; and the minimiun supply of water was one thousand cubic feet each second. The estimated 
value of the various ai-ticles manufactured there at that time, was neai-ly three millions of dollars 
per annum. 



THE HUDSON. Ill 



Below the fall, the water rushes over a rocky bed, in foaming rapids, 
between high banks, to the plain, where the islands divide it into 
channels, and through these it flows gently into the Hudson. It was a 
beautiful afternoon in early spring when we visited the falls. The water 
was abundant, for the snow upon the hills that border the charming 
valley of the Mohawk was rapidly melting, and filled the river to the 
brim. "We never saw the cataract in more attractive form, and left it 
with reluctance when the declining sun admonished us to ride back to 
Waterford, for we intended to cross the long bridge there, pass through 
Lansingburgh, and lodge that night in Troy. It was just at sunset when 
we crossed the bridge and entered the beautiful avenue which leads 
through Lansingburgh, into the heart of Troy. Through the village it is 
shaded with stately elms, and along the whole distance of two miles 
between that " New City" of the past and modern Troas, it follows the 
bank of the river in a straight line, and affords a most delightful drive in 
summer. 

In the upper suburb of Troy we came to a mass of rock rising a few 
yards from the avenue to the height of fifty or sixty feet, with a tall, 
crooked sapling shooting up from its summit, which had been placed 
there for a flagstaff. The classical taste which gave the name of the city 
built where the dappled heifer of Ilus lay down, to this modern town, 
when it was little more than a hamlet, and which dignified the irregular 
hill that overlooks it with the title of Mount Ida (called Ida Hill by the 
inhabitants), named this rocky peak Mount Olympus. We saw nothing 
upon its *' awful summit " to remind us of the Thessalian dwelling-place 
of the gods ; and the apparition nearest to that of " Olympian Jove " 
(whom the artists portrayed in human form) that we saw in the fading 
twilight, was a ragged boy, with a cigar in his mouth, vainly endeavour- 
ing to climb the sapling. 

The peak of Olympus was once much higher. It has been carried 
away from time to time to furnish materials for docks, and in strengthening 
the dam, twelve hundred feet in length, which the State built across the 
Hudson at this point to furnish a feeder to the Champlain Canal. The 
water at the dam has a fall of about twelve feet, and at the east end is a 
heavy lock, constructed of hewn stone, through which -sloops and other 



112 



THE HUDSON. 



vessels are taken into the river above, and towed by steam-tugs, as we 
bave observed, up to Lansingburgh and "Waterford. Just above the dam, 
and near "Waterford, there is a communication between the canal and the 
river, and many loaded boats from the former there enter the latter, pass 
through the lock, and are towed, some to Troy and Albany, and others to 
New York. The dam also furnishes water power to a number of mills 
on the Troy shore below it, into which grain is taken from vessels lying 
at the docks, by means of "elevators" worked by the water wheels. 
These form a striking feature in the scene below the dam. 

From the lock may be obtained an excellent view of the river below. 





LOCK AT STATE DAM, TROY. 



with the last of the bridges that then spanned the Hudson. Since then 
a railway-bridge has been thrown across it at Albany, six miles below. 
Glimpses of Troy, and Watervliet or "West Troy opposite, and of the 
Katzbergs, thirty miles distant, were obtained from the same point of 
view. The Troy Bridge was sixteen hundred feet in length, and 
connected Green Island with the main, having a draw at the eastern end 
for vessels to pass through. It was used as a public highway in crossing 
the river, and also as a viaduct of the Eensselaer and Saratoga Eailway. 
It was built of timbei', was closely covered, and rested upon heavy stone 
piers. It crossed where formerly lay a group of beautiful little islands, 
when Troy was in its infancy. They have almost disappeared, except 



THE HUDSON. 



113 



the larger one, which is bisected by the bridge. Among these islands 
shad and sturgeon, fish that abound in every part of the river below, were 
caught in large quantities, but they are seldom seen there now. 

Troy, the capital of Eensselaer County, is six miles above Albany, at 
the head of tide- water, one hundred and fifty-one miles from the city of 
New York. It is a port of entry, and its commerce is very extensive for 
an inland town. It is seated upon a plain between the foot of Mount Ida 
and the river. It has crept up that hiU in some places, but very 
cautiously, because the earth is unstable, and serious avalanches have 
from time to time occurred. Its site was originally known as Ferry 
Hook, then Ashley's Ferry, •'' and finally Yanderheyden, the name of the 
first proprietor of the soil on which Troy stands, after it was conveyed in 
fee from the Patroon of Rensslaerwyck, in the year 1720. After the 
llevolution the spot attracted some attention as an eligible village site. 
Town lots were laid out there in the summer of 1787, and two years 
afterward the freeholders of the fembryo city, at a meeting in Albany, 
resolved that "in future it should be called and known by the name of 
Troy." At the same time, with the prescience of observing men, they 
said — " It may not be too sanguine to expect, at no very distant period, 
to see Troy as famous for her trade and navigation as many of our first 
towns." It wos incorporated a village in 1801, and a city in 1816. 

From the beginning Troy was a rival of Lansingburgh. It was settled 
chiefly by enterprising New England people. They perceived the 
advantages of their location at the head of tide-water and sloop naviga- 
tion, between two fine streams (Poesten Kill and Wynant's Kill) that 
flow in wild cascades from Mount Ida and its connections, afi'ording 



« Stephen Asliley kept tlie first tavern at llie ferry, in the farm-house of Mattluas Vanderheyden, on 
the south-east corner of Kiver and Division Streets. It is tlie oldest Iiouse in Troy, having been built 
as early as 1752. On the front of the house, between the two 
windows on the left, was a brick, on which was cut " q V H. A.D. ' * - ^ , 

1752." The initials stood for Derick (Richard) Vanderheyden. 
The D was reversed. Between the second window on the left and 
the door was another brick inscribed "M V H. 1752." These were 
the initials of Matthias Vanderheyden. South of the window on 
the right, and a little above it, was another brick inscribed " I V H. 
1752." These were the initials of Jacob Vanderheyden. Matthias 
occupied tliis, and the other two built houses elsewhere on the 
plot. AsWey afterward kept an inn at the corner of Eiver and Ferry Streets. On his sign was a por- 
trait of Washington, and the words " Why here's Ashley's." 

Q 




VANDEEHEVBEN HOUSE. 



114 



THE HUDSON. 



extensive water power. After a hard struggle, Troy was made the county- 
seat, and the court-house was erected there, and from that time the 
growth of Lansingburgh was slow, whilst Ti'oy increased with wonderful 
rapidity. The former had 6,000 inhabitants in 1860, and the latter 
almost 50,000. It has always been conspicuous for well-dirocted and 
associated public spirit, and its institutions of learning are among the 
best in the land. The most noted of these are the Eensselaer Institute, 
founded and endowed by the late Stephen "Van Eensselaer of the Manor, 




EENSSELAEE ANU SARATOGA EAILWAY BKIDGE. 



the Troy Female Seminary, and the Troy IJniversity. The latter was 
established under the auspices of the Methodist denomination, but the 
funds for the building were liberally subscribed by men of various sects. 
It stands upon Mount Ida, and is the most conspicuous object in a view 
of the city seen from any point. In its immediate vicinity are beautiful 
residences, which command extensive and interesting pictures of town 
and country. In their chaste and modest style of architecture, they 
present striking contrasts to the more meretricious "Byzantine style" of 
the University. 



THE HUDSON. 



115 



Opposite Troy is the bustling village of West Troy (formerly Water- 
vlict), with a population of about 9,000 in 1860. At the south end of 
the village, and occupying a front of a quarter of a mile along the 
west bank of the Hudson, is the United States Military establishment 
called the Watcrvlict Arsenal. It was one of the largest of the six 
principal establishments then belonging to the United States, where, 
under the direction of the Ordnance Department, were manufactured the 
arms and munitions of war required for the ui?e of the army and the 




*ii s 




militia before the Civil War. About twelve acres of land were purchased 
at that point by the United States, in 1813, for arsenal purposes, and the 
group of buildings seen in the sketch was erected. The grounds com- 
prised about one hundred acres, part covered with necessary buildings and 
a parade, and the remainder was under cultivation. About two hundred 
yards west of the highway, the Erie Canal passed through the grounds, 
and was spanned by a picturesque iron bridge near the oflicers' quarters. 
Along the river front was a double row of stately elm trees, whose 
branches form a leafy arch over the highway in summer. From these the 



116 



THE HUDSON. 



green-sward bank slopes gently toward tlie river, and affords a delightful 
promenade on summer afternoons."' 

The highway along the plain from West Albany is a fine macadamised 







UMTED STAiKS AUol,:\AL 



I 



road, with the Erie Canal, the Hudson, and the amphitheatre of the 
Greenbush heights on the left. The hills on the right are" near, and 



* I was indeb'.ed to the courtesj' of Lieutenant George T. Balcli, then stationed there, for the 
following facts : — " As the necessity for greater manufacturing facilities arose, additional lands were 
ptirchased, and extensive shops,' storehouses, timber-sheds, magazines, barracks and quarters, were 
erected from time to time, until at the present (11J60), the real estate and the improvements are valued 
at 500,000 dollars, and the mUitaiy stores and supplies collected, in tlie various buildings, at 1,500,000. 
The principal operations carried on are the manufacture of lieavy artillery carnages for the sea-coast 
forts, with aU the requisite implements and equipments ; carnages for siege trains and field batteries, 
with their equipments and harness ; all machines used in transporting and repau-ing artillery ; ammu- 
nition of all kinds for sea-coast, siege, and field guns, and for small arms, and the repair and preseiTatioa 
of the large quantity of material of war in store. The shops comprise aU requisite facilities for the 
various mechanics employed, as well as a conveniently arranged and roomy biboratory. The motive 
power is water, furnished by the Erie Canal. Under ordinary circumstances from 110 to 150 workmen 
are employed, but, when the exigencies of the service demand it, 500 to 600 can easily be accommodated. 
The establishment is under the control of a field officer of the ordnance department, assisted by subalterns • 
of the same, a military storekeeper and paymaster, who is a civilian, and the requisite master, work- 
men. &c. Forty enlisted Ordnance men are at present stationed at the post, who perform the necessary 
guard duty and drills, and are at otiier times variously engaged in out-of-door and mechanical employ- 
ments. The United States have exclusive control of the grounds included within the arsenal enclosure, 
the State exercising only concm-rent jurisdiction in civil actions and criminal cases." 



THE HUDSON. 



11' 



pleasant mansions and fertile acres are seen on every side. There is a 
house a mile and a half below the arsenal, scarcely visible from the road 
because of trees and shrubbery which conceal it, and, when seen, it would 
not attract special attention, excepting for the extreme plainness and 
antiquated style of its architecture. A pleasant lane leads to it from the 
canal, and the margin of the sloping lawn on its river front, over which 
stately elms cast their shadows, is swept by the Hudson's tide. It is 
famous in colonial history as the residence of Colonel Peter Schuyler, of 




the Flats, the first Mayor of Albany, and who, as Indian Commissioner, 
in after years took four kings or sachems, of the Mohawks, to England, 
and presented them at the court of Queen Anne. After his death, his 
son Philip, the well-beloved of the Mohawks, who married his sweet 
cousin Katrina — the "Aunt Schuyler" immortalised by Mrs. Grant, of 
Laggan, in her charming pictures of "Albany Society a Hundred Years 
Ago" — resided there, and with ample resources dispensed hospitality 
with a bounteous baud. And yet this is not the identical house in wliich 
the mayor lived, and his son Philip entertained friends and strangers, but 
the one built upon its ruins, in the same style, the summer days of which 



118 



THE HUDSON. 



are so charmingly portrayed by Mrs. Grant. The old one was consumed 
by fire in the summer of 1759, when Philip had been dead eighteen 
months, and "Aunt Schuyler," his widow, whose waist he spanned with 
his hands when they were married forty years before, had grown to such 
enormous dimensions, that a chair was made for her special use. In 
that chair she was seated, under the cherry-trees in the lane, one hot day 
in August, when the eminent Colonel John Bradstreet, riding up, gave 
her the first intimation that her house was on fire, "With calmness she 
kept her seat, and gave directions to her servants and neighbours how to 
check the flames, and to save her most valued articles. Before evening 
the blackened brick walls were all that were left of that pleasant mansion. 
Aunt Schuyler had a larger house in Albany, but she took shelter with 
her husband's deaf brother Peter, who lived upon the hills near by. 

Intelligence of the disaster brought the people from all quarters. They 
testified their lo'S'e for " Aunt Schuyler " by ofl^ering their services. In a 
few days materials for a new house were collected. Colonel Bradstreet 
sent up some of the king's troops then stationed in Albany to assist in 
building, and the part of the house seen on the right in the picture, was 
completed for use before the winter set in. Over the yawning cellars of 
the late mansion a broad wooden bridge was built, furnished with seats 
like a portico. "This," says Mrs. Grant, "with the high walls of the 
ancient house, which were a kind of screen before the new one, gave the 
whole the appearance of an ancient ruin." '•'- Aunt Schuyler removed 
to her house in Albany, and leased the homestead ; and, a few years 
later, the present house was built. In it a part of the old walls may be 
seen. It was owned when I visited it by Stephen E. Schuyler, Esq., a 
descendant of the mayor. His brother, John C. Schuyler, living upon 
the gentle hills near by, possessed a finely-executed portrait of that 
earliest chief magistrate of the city of Albany. 

As we approach Albany from the Flats, and reach the boundaries of 
"the Colonie,"! the river shores are seen covered with huge piles of 
lumber, and lined with vessels of almost every kind. The ear catches 
the distant hum of a large town and the jangle of steamboat bells, while 



I 



* "Mfiiuiirs of an Americ-an Lady," b^ 
t So named because it was the seat of 



lie aneier 



f, of La:;gan. 

colony of Eensselaerwyck. 



THE HUDSON. 



11! 



the city itself, built upon hills and slopes, is more than half concealed by 
the lofty trees which surround the manor house of the Van Rensselaer 
family in the northern part of the city. This is one of the most 
attractive town residences in the State. The mansion, erected in 1765, 
and recently somewhat modified in external appearance, stands within a 
park of many acres, beautified by the hand of taste. It is adorned with 
tiowers and shrubbery, and its pleasant walks are shaded by grand old 
trees, some of which were, doubtless, planted or were forest saplings, two 




VAN l!E>aSELAER MANOB HOUSE- 



hundred years or more ago, when the first Patroon''s mansion, with its 
reed-covered roof, was erected thei-e. Through the grounds flows Mill 
Creek, a clear stream that comes down from the hills on the west, through 
the once sweet vale of Tivoli, where, until the construction of a railway 
eff'aced it, the music of a romantic cascade — the Falls of Tivoli — was 
heard. 

The reader may inquire why the proprietor of this estate was called 
the Patroon, and invested with manorial title and privileges. History 
furnishes an answer in this wise : — The Dutch West India Company, 
having made all proper arrangements for colonising New Netherlands, as 



120 



THE HUDSON. 



New York was then called, passed a charter of pi-ivileges and exemptions 
in 1629, for the encouragement of Patroons, or patrons, to make settle- 
ments. It was provided that every Patroon, to whom privileges and 
exemptions should be granted, should, within four years after the 
establishment of a colony, have there, as permanent residents, at least 
fifty persons over fifteen years of age, one-fourth of whom should be 
located within the first year. Such privileges were granted to Killian 
Van Eensselaer, a pearl merchant of Amsterdam, and one of the directors 
of the West India Company, and by his direction the commissary and 
under commissary of Fort Orange, around whose site the city of Albany 
now stands, purchased of the Indians a tract of land in that vicinity. 
Another district was afterwards purchased, and Killian Yan Eensselaer 
and three others became the proprietors of a tract of land, twenty-four 
miles long, upon each side of the Hudson, and forty-eight miles broad, 
containing over 700,000 acres of land, and comprising the present 
counties of Albany, Rensselaer, and a part of Columbia. Yan Eensselaer 
held two shares, and the others one share each. They were his equals in 
privileges and exemptions, except in the title of Patroon, which, with all 
the feudal honours, was vested in him alone, the partners binding them- 
selves to do fealty and homage for the fief on his demise, in the name and 
on behalf of his son and heirs. The manor did not become the sole 
property of the Yan Eensselaer family until 1685. 

The Patroon was invested with power to administer civil and criminal 
justice, in person or by deputy, within his domain, and, to some extent, 
he was a sort of autocrat. These powers were abolished when the English 
took possession of the province in 1664, and with it fell many of the 
special privileges, but, by the English law of primogeniture, that princely 
domain, farmed out to many tenants, remained in the family until the 
Eevolution in 1775, and the title of Patroon was held by the late General 
Stephen Yan Eensselaer, until his death, early in 1840, when it expired. 
A great portion of the manor has passed out of the hands of the Yan 
Eensselaer. family. 



CHAPTER VII, 




HE grounds around Van Rensselaer Manor House extend 
from Broadway to the river, and embrace a large 
garden and conservatory. There in the midst of 
rural scenery, the sounds of a swift-running brook, 
and almost the quietude of a sylvan retreat, the " lord 
manor of Rensselaerwyck," the lineal descendant of 
Killian, the pearl merchant, and first Patroon, was living when 
our sketch was made in elegant but unostefitatious style — a simple 
Republican, without the feudal title of his progenitors, except 
by courtesy. Within the mansion are collected some exquisite works of 
Art, and family portraits extending in regular order back to the first 
Patroon. At the head of the great staircase leading from the spacious 
hall to the chambers was a portion of the 
illuminated window which, for one hun- 
dred and ninety years, occupied a place 
in the old Dutch Church that stood in 
the middle of State Street, at its inter- 
section by Broadway. It bears the arms 
of the Van Rensselaer family, which were 
placed in the church by the son of 
Killian. 

That old church, a sketch of which, 
with the appearance of the neighbourhood 
at the time of its demolition in 1805, is 
seen in our picture, was a curiously 
arranged place of worship. It was built 
of stone, in 1715, over a smaller one 
erected in 1656, in which the congrega- 
tion continued to worship, until the new one was roofed. There was an 
interruption in the stated worship for only three Sabbaths, It had a low 




\AN EFNSSEI 



122 



THE HUDSON. 



gallery, and the huge stove used in heating the building was placed upon 
a platform so high, that the sexton went upon it from the gallery to 
kindle the fire, implying a belief in those days that heated air descended, 
instead of ascending, as we are now taught by the philosophers. The 
pulpit was made of carved oak, octagonal in form, and in front of it was a 
bracket, on which the minister placed his hour-glass, when he commenced 
preaching. From the pulpit shone in succession those lights of the 
Eeformed Dutch Church in America, Dominies Schaats, Delius, the land 
speculator, Lydius, Vandriesscn, Yan Schie, Frelinghuysen, Wcsterlo, 




OLD DUTCH CHURCH IN ALBAKi 



and Johnson. And from it the Gospel is still preached in Albany. With 
its bracket, it occupies a place in the North Dutch Church, in that city. 

The bell-rope of the old church hung down in the centre of the building, 
and upon that cord tradition has suspended many a tale of trouble for 
Mynheer Brower, one of its sextons, who lived in JSTorth Pearl Street. 
He went to the church every night at eight o'clock, pursuant to orders, 
to ring the " suppawn bell," This was the signal for the inhabitants to 
eat their " suppawn," or hasty-pudding, and prepare for bed. It was 



THE HUDSON. 123 



equivalent in its office to the old English curfew bell. On these occasions 
the -wicked boys would sometimes tease the old bell-ringer. They would 
slip stealthily into the church while he was there with his dim lantern, 
unlock the side door, hide in some dark corner, and when the old man 
was fairly seated at home, and had his pipe lighted for a last smoke, they 
would ring the bell furiously. Down to the old church the sexton would 
hasten, the boys would slip out at the side door before his arrival, and the 
old man would return home thoughtfully, musing upon the probability 
of invisible hands pulling at his bell-rope — those 

" People— all, the people, 
They that dwell up in the steeple 

All alone ; 
And who, tollinp:, tolling, tolling, 

In that muffled monotone, 
Feel a glory in so rolling 

On the human heart a stone ; 

They are neither man nor woman. 

They are neither brute nor human, 

They are ghouls ! " 

Albany wore a quaint aspect until the beginning of the present century, 
on account of the predominance of steep-roofed houses, with their terraced 
gables to the street. A fair specimen is given in our Street View in 
Ancient Albany, which shows the appearance of the town at the intersec- 
tion of North Pearl and State Streets, sixty years ago. The house at the 
nearer corner was built as a parsonage for the Eev. Gideon Schaats, who 
arrived in Albany in 1652. The materials were imported from Holland, 
— ^bricks, tiles, iron, and wood-work, — and were brought, with the church 
bell and pulpit, in 1657, "When I was quite a lad," says a late writer, 
' ' I visited the house with my mother, who was acquainted with the 
father of Balthazar Lydius, the last proprietor of the mansion. To my 
eyes it appeared like a palace, and I thought the pewter plates in a corner 
cupboard were solid silver, they glittered so. The partitions were made 
of mahogany, and the exposed beams were ornamented with carvings in 
high relief, representing the vine and fruit of the grape. To show the 
relief more perfectly, the beams were painted white. Balthazar was an 
eccentric old bachelor, and was the terror of all the boys. Strange 
stories, almost as dreadful as those which cluster around the name of 
Bluebeard, were told of his fierceness on some occasions ; and the urchins. 



124 



THE HUDSON. 



when they saw him in the streets, would give him the whole side-walk, 
for he made them think of the ogre, growling out his 

'Fee, fo, fum. 
I smell the blood of an Englishman.' 

He was a tall, spare Dutchman, with a bullet head, sprinkled with thin 
white hair in his latter years. He was fond of his pipe and his bottle, 
and gloried in his celibacy, until his life was ' in the sere and yellow leaf.' 







^f*f lifM- 



Then he gave a pint of gin for a squaw (an Indian woman), and calling 
her his wife, lived with her as such until his death." 

On the opposite corner was seen an elm-tree, yet standing in I860, but 
of statelier proportions, which was planted more than a hundred years 
before by Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence, whose dwelling was next to the corner. It was a monu- 
ment to the planter, more truly valued of the Albanians in the heats of 
summer, than would be the costliest pile of brass or marble. 

Further up the street is seen a large building, with two gables, which 
was known as the Vanderheyden Palace. It is a good specimen of the 



THE HUDSON. 



125 



external appearance of tlic better class of houses erecteil by the Dutch iu 
Albany. It was built in 1725, by Johannes Bcekraau, one of the old 
burghers of that city ; and was purchased, in 1778, by one of tho Vauder- 
heydcns of Troy, who, for many yeai's, lived tlierc in the style of the old 
Dutch aristocracy. On account of its size, it was dignified with the title 
of palace. It figures in Washington Irving' s story of Dolph Heyliger, iu 
" Bracebridge Hall," as the residence of Heer Anthony YandcrhcyJen ; 




.'DERHtYDKN PAL.A 



and when Mr, Irving transformed the old farmhouse of Van Tassel into 
his elegant Dutch cottage at " Sunnyside," he made the southern gable 
an exact imitation of that of the palace in Albany. And the iron vane, 
in the form -of a horse at full speed, that turned for a century upon one of 
the gables of the Yanderheyden Palace, now occupies the peak of that 
southern gable at delightful " Sunnyside." 

Kalm, the Swedish traveller, who visited Albany in 1748 and 1749, 
says in his Journal, — " The houses in this town are very neat, and partly 
built with stones, covered with shingles of the white pine. Some arc 
slated with tiles from Holland. Most of the houses are built in the old 



126 



THE HUDSON. 



way, with the gable-end toward the street j a few excepted, which were 

lately built in the manner now used The gutters on the roofs 

reach almost to the middle of the street. This preserves the walls from 
being damaged by the rain, but it is extremely disagreeable in rainy 
weather for the people in the streets, there being hardly any means for 
avoiding the water from the gutters. The street doors are generally in 
the middle of the houses, and on both sides are seats, on which, during 
fair weather, the people spend almost the whole day, especially on those 
which are in the shadow of the houses. In the evening these seats are 
covered with people of both sexes ; but this is rathe-r troublesome, as those 
who pass by are obliged to greet everybody, unless they will shock the 
politeness of the inhabitants of the town." 

Kalm appears to have had some unpleasant experiences in Albany, and 
in his Journal gave his opinion very freely concerning the inhabitants. 
" The avarice and selfishness of the inhabitants of Albany," he says, " are 
very well known throughout all JN'orth America. If a Jew, who under- 
stands the art of getting forward perfectly well, should settle amongst 
them, they would not fail to ruin him ; for this reason, no one comes to 
this place without the most pressing necessity." He complains that he 
"was obliged to pay for everything twice, thrice, and four times as dear 
as in any other part of North America" which he had passed through. 
If he wanted any help, he had to pay "exorbitant prices for their 
services," and yet he says he found some exceptions among them. After 
due reflection, he came to the following conclusion respecting "the 
origin of the inhabitants of Albany and its neighbourhood. Whilst the 
Dutch possessed this country, and intended to people it, the government 
took up a pack of vagabonds, of which they intended to clear the country, 
and sent them, along with a number of other settlers, to this province. 
The vagabonds were sent far from the other colonists, upon the borders 
toward the Indians and other enemies ; and a few honest families were 
persuaded to go with them, in order to keep them in bounds. I cannot 
in any other way account for the difference between the inhabitants of 
Albany and the other descendants of so respectable a nation as the 
Dutch." 

Albany was settled by the Dutch, and is the oldest of the permanent 



THE HUDSON. 127 



European settlements in the United States. Hudson passed its site in the 
Half-Moon, in the early autumns of 1609 ; and the next year Dutch 
navigators built trading-houses there, to traffic for furs with the Indians. 
In 1614 they erected a stockade fort on an island near. It was swept 
away by a spring freshet in 1617. Another was built on the main : it 
was abandoned in 1623, and a stronger one erected in what is now 
Broadway, below State Street. This was furnished witli eight cannon 
loaded with stones, and was named Fort Orange, in honour of the then 
Stadtholder of Holland. Down to the period of the intercolonial wars, 
the settlement and the city were known as Port Orange by the French in 
Canada. Families settled there in 1630, and for awhile the place was 
called Beverwyck. When James, Duke of York and Albany (brother to 



FORT FEEDERl 



Charles II.), came into possession of Xew I^etherland, Kew Amsterdam 
was named New York, and Orange, or Bcverwyck, was called Albany. 

In' 1647 a fort, named Williamstadt, was erected upon the hill at the 
head of State Street, very near the site of the State Capitol, and the city 
was enclosed by a line of defences in septangular form. In 1683 the 
little trading post, having grown first to a hamlet and then to a large 
village, was incorporated a city, and Peter Schuyler, alreadj' mentioned 
(son of the first of that name who came to America), was chosen its first 
mayor. Out of the manor of Rensselaerwyck a strip of land, a mile wide, 
extending from the Hudson at the town, thirteen miles back, was granted 
to the city, but the title to all the remainder of the soil of that broad 
domain was confirmed to the Patroon. "When, toward the middle of the 
last century, the province was menaced by the French and Indians, a 
strong quadrangular fort, built of stone, was erected upon the site of that 



128 



THE HUDSON. 



of "Williamstadt. Witliin the heavy walls, which had strong bastions at 
the four corners, was a stone building for the officers and soldiers. It 
was named Fort Frederick ; but its situation was so insecure, owing to 
higher hills in the rear, from which an enemy might attack it, it was not 
regarded as of much value by Abercrombie and others during the 
campaigns of the Seven Years' War. From that period until the present, 
Albany has been growing more and more cosmopolitan in its population, 
until now very little of the old Dutch element is distinctly perceived. 
The stylo of its architecture is changed, and very few of the buildings 
erected in the last century and before, are remaining. 

Among the most interesting of these relics of the past is the mansion 
erected by General Philip Schuyler, at about the time when the Van 
Rensselaer Manor House was built. It stands in the southern part of the 
city, at the head of Schuyler Street, and is a very fine specimen of the 
domestic architecture of the country at that period. It is entered at the 
front by an octagonal vestibule, richly ornamented within. The rooms 
are spacious, with high ceilings, and wainscoted. The chimney-pieces in 
some of the rooms ai'S finely wrought, and ornamented with carvings from 
mantel to ceiling. The outhouses were spacious, and the grounds around 
the mansion, so late as 1860, occupied an entire square within the city. 
Its site was well chosen, for even now, surrounded as it is by the city, it 
commands a most I'eraarkable prospect of the Hudson and the adjacent 
country. Below it are the slopes and plain toward the river, which once 
composed the magnificent lawn in front of the general's mansion ; further 
on is a dense portion of the city ; but looking over all the mass of buildings 
and shipping, the eyes take in much of the fine county of Rensselaer, on 
the opposite side of the river, and a view of the Hudson and its valley 
many miles southward. 

In that mansion General Schuyler and his family dispensed a princely 
hospitality for almost Ibrty years. Every stranger of distinction passing 
between New York and Canada, public functionaries of the province and 
state visiting Albany, and resident friends and relatives, always found a 
hearty welcome to bed and board under its roof. And when the British 
army had surrendered to the victorious republicans at Saratoga, in " the 
autumn of 1777, Sir John Burgoyne, the accomplished commander of the 



THE HUDSON. 



129 



royal troops, and many of his fellow-captives, were treated as friendly 
guests at the general's table. To this circumstance we have already 
alluded. 

"We were received by the good General Schuyler, his wife and 
daughters," says the Baroness Eeidesel, "not as enemies, but as kind 
friends ; and they treated us with the most marked attention and 
politeness, as they did General Eurgoyne, who had caused General 




GENEEAL SCUUVLEK'S MANSION 



Schuyler's beautifully-finished house to be burned. In fact, they behaved 
like persons of exalted minds, who determined to bury all I'ccollections of 
their own injuries in the contemplation of our misfortunes. General 
Burgoyne was struck with General Schuyler's generosity, and said to him, 

* You show me great kindness, though I have done you much injury.' 

* That was the fate of war,' replied the brave man, ' let us say no more 
about it.'" 

"The British commander was well received by Mrs. Schuyler," says 
the Marquis De Chastellux, in his "Travels in America," " and lodged 
in the best apartment in the house. An excellent supper was served him 

s 



130 



THE HUDSON. 



in the evening, the honours of which were done with so much grace that 
he was affected even to tears, and said, with a deep sigh, ' Indeed, this is 
doing too much for the man who has ravaged their lands and burned their 
dwellings ! ' The next morning he was reminded of liis misfortunes by 
an incident that Avould have amused any one else. His bed was prepared 
in a large room, but as he had a numerous suite, or family, several 
mattresses were spread on the floor, for some officers to sleep near him. 
Schuyler's second son, a little fellow, about seven years old, very arch and 
forward, but very amiable, was running all the morning about the house. 
Opening the door of the saloon, he burst out a laughing on seeing all the 
English collected, and shut it after him, exclaiming, ' You are all my 
prisoners ! ' Tliis innocent cruelty rendered them more melancholy than 
before." 

Schuyler's mansion was the theatre of a stirring event, in the summer 
of 1781. The general was then engaged in the civil service of his country, 
and was at home. The war was at its height, and the person of Schuyler 
was regarded as a capital prize by his Tory enemies. A plan was 
conceived to seize him, and carry him a prisoner into Canada, A Tory 
of his neighbourhood, named "Waltemeyer, a colleague of the more 
notorious Joe Bettys, was employed for the purpose. "With a party of his 
associates, some Canadians and Indians, he prowled in the woods, near 
Albany, for several days, awaiting a favourable opportunity. From a 
Dutch labourer, whom he seized, he learned that the general was at homo, 
and kept a body-guard of six men in the house, three of them, in 
succession, being continually on duty. Tlic Dutchman was compelled to 
take an oath of secrecy, but appears to have made a mental reservation, 
for, as soon as possible, he hastened to Schuyler's house, and warned him 
of his peril. 

At the close of a sultry day in August, the general and his family were 
sitting in the large hall of the mansion; the servants were dispersed 
about the premises ; three of the guard were asleep in the basement, and 
the other three were lying upon the grass in front of the house. The 
night had fallen, when a servant announced that a stranger at the back 
gate wished to speak with the general. His errand was immediately 
apprehended. The doors and windows were closed and barred, the f^imily 



THE HUDSON. 



131 



were hastily collected iu an upper room, and the general ran to his bed- 
chamber for his arms. Prom the window he saw the house surrounded 
by armed men. For the purpose of arousing the sentinels upon the grass, 
and, perhaps, alarm the town, then half a mile distant, he fired a pistol 
from the window. At that moment the assailants burst open the doors, 
and, at the same time, Mrs. Schuyler perceived that, in the confusion and 
alarm, in their retreat from the hall, her infant child, a few months old, 




&1AIECV'3> IN &CHUiLliR& MAhblON 



liad been left in a cradle iu the nursery below. Slie was flying to the 
rescue of her child, when the general interposed, and prevented her. But 
her third daughter (who afterwards became the wife of the last Patroon 
of Eensselaerwyck) instantly rushed down stairs, snatched the still 
sleeping infant from the cradle, and boi'e it off in safety. One of the 
Indians hurled a sharp tomahawk at her as she ascended the stairs. It 
cut her dress within a few inches of the infant's head, and struck the 



132 



THE HUDSON. 



stair rail at the lower turn, where the scar may be still seen. At that 
moment, "Waltemeycr, supposing her to be a servant, exclaimed, "Wench, 
wench, where is your master ? " "With great presence of mind, she 
replied, "Gone to alarm the town." The general heard her, and, 
throwing up the window, called out, as if to a multitude, " Come on, my 
brave fellows ! surround the house, and secure the villains ! " The 
marauders were then in the dining-room, pluudeviug the general's plate. 
With this, and the three guards that were in the house, and were 
disarmed, they made a precipitate retreat in the direction of Canada. 

The infant daughter, who so narrowly escaped death, was the late 
Mrs. Catherine Yan Rensselaer Cochran, of Oswego, New York, who was 
General Schuyler's youngest and last surviving child. She died toward 
the close of August, 1857, at the age of seventy-six years. 

Albany was made the political metropolis of the State of ISTew York 
early in the present century, when the Capitol, or State-House, was 
erected. It stands upon a hill at the heat of broad, steep, busy State 
Street, one hundred and thirty feet above the Hudson, and commands a 
fine prospect of the whole surrounding country, especially the rich 
agricultural district on the east side of the river. In front of the Capitol 
is a small well-shaded park, or enclosed public square, on the eastern side 
of which are costly white marble buildings devoted to the official business 
of the State and city. The Capitol is an unpretending structure, of brown 
free-stone from the Nyack quarries, below the Highlands. It is two 
stories in height, and ornamented with a portico, whose roof is supported 
by four grey marble columns of the Ionic order, tetrastyle. The building 
is surmounted by a dome supported by several small Ionic columns, and 
bearing upon its crown a wooden statue of Themis, the goddess of justice 
and law. Within it are halls for the two branches of the State legislature 
(Senate and General Assembly), an executive chamber for the official use 
of the Governor, an apartment for the Adjutant-General, and rooms for 
the use of the higher state courts. 

Immediately in the rear of the Capitol is the building containing the 
State library, which includes nearly forty thousand volumes, and some 
valuable manuscripts. It is a free, but not a circulating, library. 

Albany contained only about six thousand inhabitants when it was 



THE HUDSON. 



133 



made the State capital, and its progress in business and population was 
very slow until the successful establishment of steam-boat navigation on 
the Hudson, and the completion of that stupendous work of internal 
improvement, the Erie Canal, by which the greatest of the inland seas of 
the United States (Lake Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior) were 
connected by navigable waters with the Atlantic Ocean, through the 




Hudson lliver. The idea of such connection had occupied the minds of 
sagacious men for many years, foremost among whom Avcre Elkanah 
Watson, General Philip Schuyler, Christopher Colles, and Gouverneur 
Morris ; and thirty years before the great work was commenced, Joel 
15arlow, one of the early American poets, wrote in his Vision of 
Columbus — 

" He saw as widel}- spreads the imchannelled plain, 
Where inland realms for ages bloomed in vain, 
Canals, long winding, ope a watery flight. 
And distant streams, and seas, and lakes unite. 

" From fair Albania tow'rd the fading sun, 
Back through the midland lengtheuing channels nin ; 
Meet the far lalces, their beauteous towns that lave, 
And Hudson joined to broad Ohio's wave." 



134 



THE HUDSON. 



The Erie Canal enters the Hudson at Albany. Its western terminus is 
the city of Buffalo, at the east end of Lake Erie. The length of the canal 
is 360 miles, and its original width was forty feet, with depth sufficient 
to bear boats of eighty tons burden. It was completed in the year 1825, 
at a cost to the State of nearly eight millions of dollars. The business 
demands upon it warranting an enlargement to seventy feet in widtli, 
work with that result in view has been in progress for several years. It 
flows through the entire length of the beautiful Mohawk valley, crosses 




CANAL BA.SIX AT ALIiAXV. 



the Mohawk Uiver several times, and enters Albany at the north end of 
the city. 

Near where the last aqueduct of the canal crosses the ^Mohawk River, 
the rapids above Cohoes Falls commence. The Indians had a touching 
legend connected with these rapids, that exhibits, in brief sentences, a 
vivid picture of the workings of the savage mind. 

Occuna, a young Seneca warrior, and his affianced were carelessly 
paddling along the river in a canoe, at the head of the rapids, when they 
suddenly perceived themselves drawn irresistibly by the current to the 



THE HUDSON. 135 



middle of, and down, the stream towards tlie cataract. "When they found 
deliverance to be impossible, the lovers prepared to meet the great Master 
of Life with composure, and began the melancholy death-song, in 
responsive sentences. Occuna began : " Daughter of a mighty warrior ! 
the Great Manitore [the Supreme God] calls me hence; he bids me hasten 
into his presence ; I hear his voice in the stream ; I perceive his Spirit 
in the moving of the waters. The light of his eyes danceth upon the swift 
rapids." 

The maiden replied : "Art thou not thyself a mighty warrior, 
Occuna'^ Hath not thy hatchet been often bathed in the red blood of 
thine enemies ? Hath the fleet deer ever escaped thy arrow, or the 
beaver eluded thy pursuit ? Why, then, shouldst thou fear to go into the 
presence of Manitore ? " 

Occuna responded : "Manitore regardeth the brave— he respccteth the 
prayer of the mighty ! When I selected thee from the daughters of thy 
mother, I promised to live and die with thee. The Thunderer hath called 
us together. 

" Welcome, shade of Or i aha, great chief of the invincible Senecas ! 
Lo, a warrior and the daughter of a warrior come to join you in the feast 
of the blessed !" 

Occuna was dashed in pieces among the rocks, but his affianced maiden 
was preserved to tell the story of her perils. Occuna, the Indian said, 
"was raised high above the regions of the moon, from whence he vicw.s 
with joy the prosperous hunting of the warriors ; he gives pleasant 
dreams to his friends, and terrifies their enemies with dreadful omens." 
And when any of his tribe passed this fatal cataract, they halted, and 
with brief solemn ceremonies commemorated the death of Occuna. 

A capacious basin, comprising an area of thirty-two acres, was formed 
for the reception of the vessels and commerce of the canal, and in safe 
harbour for its boats and the river craft, in winter, by the erection of a 
pier, a mile in length, upon a shoal in front of the city. It was constructed 
by a stock company. The basin was originally closed at the upper and 
lower ends by lock-gates. These were aoon removed to allow the tide 
and currents of the river to flow freely through the basin, for the 
dispersion of obstructions. When the Western Eailway from Boston to 



136 



THE HUDSON. 



Albany was completed, a passage was made through this pier for ferry- 
boats, the bridges not being sufficient for the accommodation of travellers 
and freight. The pier was also soon covered with storehouses ; and when 
the Harlem and Hudson River Railways (the former skirting the western 
borders of Connecticut, eighteen or twenty miles east of the Hudson, and the 
latter following the river shore) were finished, and their termini were 
fixed at the point of that of the "Western Railway, the opening in the pier 
was widened, and ferry-boats made a passage through continually. 

These roads, with the great Central Railway extending west from 
Albany, and others penetrating the country northward, together with the 
Champlain Canal, have made that city the focus of an immense trade and 
travel. The amount of property that reaches Albany by canal alone, is 
between two and three millions of tons annually ; of which almost a 
million of tons, chiefly in the various forms of timber, are the products of 
the forests. The timber trade of Albany is very extensive, amounting in 
value to between six or seven millions of dollars annually. Manufacturing 
is carried on there extensively ; and the little town of six thousand 
inhabitants, when it was made the State capital, about sixty years before, 
comprised in 1860 almost seventy thousand souls. 

It is not within the scope of our plan of illustrating the Hudson to do 
more than offer a general outline of its various features, as exhibited 
in the forms of nature and the works of man. We leave to the 
statistician the task of giving in detail an account of the progress of towns 
and villages, in their industrial operations and the institutions of learning. 
AYe picture to the eye and mind only such prominent features as would 
naturally engage the obseivation of the tourist seeking recreation and 
incidental knowledge. With this remark we leave the consideration of 
Albany, after saying a few words concerning the Dudley Observatory, an 
establishment devoted to astronomical science, and ranking in its 
appropriate appointments with the best of its class of aids to human 
knowledge. 

The Dudley Observatory was projected about eight years ago, and is 
nearly completed. It is the result of a conference of several scientific 
gentlemen, who resolved to establish at the State capital an astronomical 
observatory, that, for completeness, should be second to none in the world. 



THE HUDSON. 



137 



General Van Rensselaer, the present proprietor of the Manor House, at 
Albany, presented for the purpose eight acres of land upon an eminence 
north of the city. This preliminary step was followed by Mrs. Blandina 
Dudley, widow of a wealthy Albany merchant, who offered twelve 
thousand dollars towards the cost of erecting a building. Those having 
the matter in charge resolved to call it the Dudley Observatory, in honour 
of the generous lady. She subsequently increased her gift for apparatus 
and endowments to seventy-six thousand dollars. The chief spring of her 




THE DUDLEY OBSERVATORY. 



generosity was a reverential respect for her husband. With Avisdom she 
chose this instrument of scientific investigation to be his enduring 
monument. Others made liberal donations, trustees were appointed, a 
scientific council, to take charge of the establishment, was formed, and 
the building was commenced in the spring of 1853. A great heliometer, 
named in honour of Mrs. Dudley, was constructed ; and Thomas W. Olcott, 
of Albany, who took great interest in the enterprise from the beginning, 
contributed sufiicient money to purchase the splendid meridian circle by 
Pistor and Martin, of Berlin, the finest instrument of the kind in the world. 



138 



THE HUDSON. 



It is called the Olcott Meridian Circle. The whole establishment was to 
have been placed under the supeiintcndence of the eminent Professor 
Ormsby M. Mitchel, of Ohio. The Civil War broke out, and Mr. Mitchel, 
animated by patriotic zeal for the salvation of his country, entered the 
military service, for which he had been educated at West Point, and was 
made a general officer. While in command of the "Department of the 
South" at Beaufort, South Carolina, he died from the effects of yellow 
fever. 

The Dudley Observatory is upon the highest summit of the grounds, 
and commands an extensive view of the Hudson and the adjacent country. 
It is cruciform, with a front of about eighty feet, and a depth of seventy- 
five feet. Its massive walls are of brick, faced with brown freestone. 
All the arrangements within, for the use of instruments, are very perfect. 
In a large niche opposite the entrance door is a marble bust of Mr. Dudley, 
by Palmer, the eminent sculptor, on the pedestal of which is the following 
inscription : — 

CHARLES ¥. UUDLEV, 

liX BLANDINA, HIS WIFE. 

DEDICATED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF 

ASTEONOMT. 

In the Clock-room of the Observatory is the apparatus by which a "time- 
ball" on the top of the State Capitol, a mile distant, is dropped at 
precisely twelve o'clock each day, and bells are also rung at the same 
instant in the senate and assembly chambers. The ball is seen in our 
sketch of the Capitol. It is f jiir and a half feet in diameter, is mounted 
on the flag-staff, and is raised each day at ten minutes before twelve. 
The force of the fall is broken by spiral springs at the foot of the flag-staff. 
Another but smaller time-ball is dropped at the same instant in 
Broadway, in front of the telegraph-office, and hundreds of persons may 
be seen daily holding their watches at the approach of the meridian 
moment, to regulate them by this unerring indicator. 

Immediately opposite Albany is the commencement of fine alluvial 
" flats," almost on a level with the Hudson, and subject to overflow when 
floods or high tides prevail. At the head of these " flats " lies the village 
of Grcenbush {lid Greene Bosch, "the pine woods," in the Dutch 



THE HUDSON. 



139 



language), which was laid out at the beginning of this century. It has 
since crept up the slope, and now presents a beautiful rural village of 
almost four thousand inhabitants. Many business men of Albany have 
pleasant country residences there. About a mile from the ferry is the 
site of extensive barracks erected by the United States government as a 
place of rendezvous for troops at the opening of the war between Great 
Britain and the United States in 1812. Provision was made for six 





GREKNBL'SII RAILMAY-S' 



thousand soldiers; and their General Dearborn, the ooininander-iu-chief 
of the United States army, had his quarters for some time. On tliis very 
spot Abercrombie and Amherst collected their troops above a hundred 
years ago, preparatory to an invasion of Canada, or, at least, the capture 
of the French fortresses on Lake Champlain ; and from that same spot 
went companies and regiments to the northern frontiers in 1812 — 11, to 
invade Canada, or to oppose an invasion from that province, as circumstances 
might require. 'No traces now remain of warlike preparation. The 



Albany is seen on the opposite side of the river. 



140 



THE HUDSON. 



peaceful pursuits of agriculture have taken the place of the turmoil of the 
camp, and instead of the music of the shrill fife and the sonorous drum 
that came up from the river's brink, when battalions marched away for 
the field, the scream of the steam-whistle, the jingle of bells, and the 
hoarse breathings of the locomotive are heard — for at Grecnbush are 
concentrated the termini of four railways, that are almost hourly pouring 
living freight and tons of merchandise upon the vessels of the Albany 
ferries. Buildings of every description for the use of these railways are 
there in a cluster, the most conspicuous of which is the immense many- 
sided engine-house of the Western Road, whose great dome, covered with 
bright tin, is a conspicuous object on a sunny day for scores of miles 
around. 

The Hudson Eivcr Railway is on the east side of the stream, and follows 
its tortuous banks all the way from Albany to New York, sometimes 
leading through tunnels or deep rocky gorges at promontories, and at 
others making tangents across bays and the mouths of tributary streams 
by means of bridges, trestlework, and causeways. Its length is 143 miles. 
More than a dozen trains each way pass over portions of the road in the 
course of twenty-four hours, affording the tourist an opportunity to visit 
in a short space of time every village on both sides of the river, there 
being good ferries at each. The shores are hilly and generally well- 
cultivated ; and the diversity of the landscape, whether seen from the cars 
or a steamer, present to Vre eye, in rapid succession, ever-varying pictures 
of life and beauty, comfort and thrift. 



CHAPTER VIII. 




^.t?' HE first village below Albany is tlie pretty one of 
■^'C Castleton, on tbe Hudson River Railway, about 
"''^'' eight miles below Greenbush. Around it is a 
pleasant agricultural country, and between it and 
Albany, on the western shore, flows in the romantic 
IS'orman's-Kill (the Indian Tawasentha, or Place of 
many Dead), that comes down from the region of 
the lofty Helderbergs. Upon the island in the 
Hudson, at the mouth of this stream — a noted place 
of encampment and trade for the Iroquois — the Dutch built their first 
fort on the Hudson in 1614, and placed it in command of Captain 
Christians. The island was named Kasteel, or Castle, and from it the 
little village just mentioned received its name. The alluvial " flats " in 
this neighbourhood are wide, and low islands, partly wooded and partly 
cultivated, divide the river in channels. They stretch parallel with the 
shores, a considerable distance, and the immense passenger steamers 
sometimes find it difficult to traverse the sinuous main channel. These, 
and the tall-masted sloops, have the appearance, from the Castleton 
shore, of passing through vast meadows, the water that bears them not 
being visible. 

In this vicinity is the famous hidden sand-bar, called Overslagh by the 
Dutch, so formidable to the navigators of this part of the river, not 
because of any actual danger, but of tedious detentions caused by running 
aground. Some improvements have been made. In former years the 
sight of from twenty to fifty sail of river craft, fast aground on the 
Overslagh at low tide, was not rare, and the amount of profanity uttered 
by the vexed sailors was sufficient to demoralise the whole district. This 
bar is formed by the sand brought in by the Norman's Kill and other 
streams, and large sums have been expended in damming, dredging, and 



142 



THE HUDSON. 



dyking, without entire success. As early as 1790, the State legislature 
authorised the proprietors of Mills and Papskni Islands to erect a dam or 
dyke between them, so as to throw all the water into the main channel, 
and thus increase its velocity sufficient to carry away the accumulating 
sand. It abated, but did not cure the difficulty. This bar is a perpetual 
contradiction to the frequent boast, that the navigation of the Hudson is 
unobstructed along its entire tide-watercourse. The Overslagh is the 
only exception, however. 

About four miles below Castleton, is the village of Schodack, a deriva- 




^v#i'. i-''"^' 



tive from the Mohegan word is-cho-da, ** a meadow, or fire-plain." This 
was anciently the seat of the council fire of the Mohcgans upon the 
Hudson. They extended their villages along the eastern bank of the 
stream, as high as Lanslngburgh, and their hunting grounds occupied the 
entire counties of Columbia and Rensselaer. As the white settlements 
crowded there, the Mohegans retired eastwardly to the valley 'of the 
Housatonnuc, in Massachusetts, where their descendants, known as the 
Stockbridge Indians, were for a long time religiously instructed by the 



THE HUDSON. 



143 



eminent Jonathan Edwards. They embraced Christianity, abandoned 
the chase as a means of procuring subsistence, and adopted the arts of 
civilised life. A small remnant of these once powerful Mohegans is now 
living, as thriving agriculturists, on the shores of Winnebago Lake, in 
the far north-west. 

About seven miles below Schodack is Stuyvesant Landing, the "port" 
of Kinderhook {Kinder s Roeclc), the Dutch name for " children's point, or 
corner." It is derived, as tradition asserts, from the fact that a Swede, 
the first settler at the point at Upper Kinderhook Landing, had a 
numerous progeny. The village, which was settled by Dutch and 
Swedes at an early period, is upon a plain five miles from the river, with 
most attractive rural surroundings. There, for more than twenty years 
after his retirement from public life, the late Honourable Martin Van 
Buren, a descendant of one of the early settlers, and the eighth president 
of the United States, resided. His pleasant seat, embowered in lindens, 
is called " Lindenwold," and there, in delightful quietude, the retired 
chief magistrate of the republic spent the evening of his days. 

The country road from Kinderhook to the Coxsakie station passes 
through a rich and well-cultivated region, and leads the tourist to points 
from which the first extensive views of the magnificent range of the 
Katzbergs may be obtained. 

Coxsakie village is upon the west side of the river, partly along the 
shore for a mile, in three clusters. The more ancient portion, called 
Coxsakie Street, is upon a beautiful plain a mile from the river. The 
latter was originally built upon the post road, as most of the old villages 
along the Hudson were, the river traffic being at that time inconsiderable. 
The name is the Iroquois word Kuxakee, or the Cut Banks, Anglicised. 
Its appropriateness may be understood by the form of the shore, whose 
banks have evidently been cut down by the rushing river currents that 
sweep swiftly along between an island and the main, when the spring 
freshets occur. From a high rocky bluff at the ferry, on the east side of 
the river, a fine view of Coxsakie, with the blue Katzbergs as a back- 
ground, may be obtained. Turning southward, the eye takes in a broad 
expanse of the river and country, with the city of Hudson in the distance, 
and northward are seen the little villages of Cocymans and New Baltimore, 



144 



THE HUDSON. 



on the western shore. The site of the former bore the Indian name of 
Sanago. It was settled by the Dutch, and received its present name 
from one of its earlier inhabitants. 

It was in blossoming May, in 1860, when the shad fishers were in 
their glory, drawing full nets of treasure from the river in quick 
succession, when the "tide served," that I visited this portion of the 
Hudson. On both sides of the river they were pursuing their vocation 
with assiduity, for "the season" lasts only about two months. The 




immense reels on which they stretch and dry their nets, the rough, 
uncouth costume of the fishermen, appropriate to the water and the slime, 
the groups of young people who gather upon the beach to see the 
" catch," form interesting and sometimes picturesque foregrounds to 
every view on these shores. The shad'^' is the most important fish of the 
Hudson, being very delicious as food, and caught in such immense 



* Alosa jn-astabLlis. Head and back dark bluish ; sides of the bodygi-eeiiish, with blue and yellowish 
thiiiigeable metallic reflections; belly nearly white; length from one to two feet. It resides in the 
northern seas, but comes to us from the south to deposit its spawn. It appears at Charleston in January 
or February ; early in Marcli at Norfolk and Baltimore, and at New York at the latter end of March. 



THE HUDSON. 



145 



numbers, as to make them clieap dishes for the poor man's table. They 
enter the Hudson in immense numbers towards the close of March or 
beginning of April, and ascend to the head of tide water to spawn. It is 
while on their passage up that the greater number and best conditioned 
arc caught, several hundreds being sometimes taken in a single "catch." 
They generally descend the river at the close of May, when they are 



«l^ 




lIslIIN(r '5r ±x >\ —^,±11 Lh.O'S, MI\I), 



called Back Shad, and are so lean and almost worthless, that "thin as a 
June Shad" is a common epithet applied to lean persons. 

Tlie Sturgeon f is also caught from the Hudson in large numbers at 
most of the fishing stations. The most important of these are in the 
vicinity of Hyde Park, a few miles above, and Low Point, a few miles 
below, tho city of Poughkeepsie. These fish are sold in such quantities 
in Albany, that they have been called, in derision, ''Albany beef," and 



■* Tlie largest flsh in the picture is the sturgeon, the smallest (he striped bass, and the other a sliad. 
The relative sizes and proportions are corpeet. 

t The short-nosed Sturgeon (Acipenser hrcvinostris) is a large agile flsh without scales, tho smooth 
skin covered with small spinous asperites scattered equally over it. Its colour is dusky above, with faint 
traces of oblique bands ; belly white, and the fins tinged with reddish colour. 



tr 



146 THE HUDSON. 



the inhabitants of that ancient town, " Sturgeonites." They vary in size 
from two to eight feet in length, and in weight from 100 to 450 lbs. 
The "catch" commences in April, and continues until the latter end of 
August. The flesh is used for food by some, and the oil that is extracted 
is considered equal to the best sperm as an illuminator. The voyagers 
upon the Hudson may freqiiently see them leap several feet out of water 
when chasing their prey of smaller fish to the surface, and they have been 
known to seriously injure small boats, either by striking their bottoms 
with their snout in rising, or falling into them. Bass and herring are 
also caught in abundance in almost every part of the river, and numerous 
smaller fishes reward the angler's patience by their beauty of form, if he 
be painter or poet, and their delicious flavour, if the table gives him 
pleasure. 

About thirty miles below Albany, lying upon a bold, rocky promontory 
that juts out from the eastern shore at an elevation of fifty feet, with a 
beautiful bay on each side, is the city of Hudson, the capital of Columbia 
County, a port of entry, and one of the most delightfully situated towns 
on the river. It was founded in 1784 by thirty proprietors, chiefly 
Quakers from New England. Never in the history of the rapid growth 
of cities in America has there been a more remarkable example than that 
of Hudson. AVithin three years from the time when the farm on which 
it stands was purchased, and only a solitary storehouse stood ixpon the 
bank of the river at the foot of the bluff", one hundi;ed and fifty dwellings, 
with wharves, storehouses, workshops, barns, &c., were erected, and a 
population of over fifteen hundred souls had settled there, and become 
possessed of a city charter. 

The principal street of the city of Hudson extends from the slopes of a 
lofty eminence called Prospect Hill, nearly a mile, to the brow of the 
promontory fronting the river, where a pleasant public promenade was 
laid out more than fifty years ago. It is adorned with trees and 
shrubbery, and gravelled walks, and affords charming views up and down 
the river of the beautiful country westward, and the entire range of the 
Katzbergs, lying ten or twelve miles distant. In the north-west, the 
Helderberg range looms up beyond an agricultural district dotted with 
villages and farmhouses. Southward the prospect is bounded by Mount 



THE HUDSON. 



147 



Merino high and near, over the bay, whieli is cultivated to its summit, 
and from whose crown the Highlands in the south, the Luzerne 
Mountains, near Lake George, in the north, the Katzbergs in the west, 
and the Green Mountains eastward, may be seen, blue and shadowy, and 
bounding the horizon with a grand and mysterious line, while at the feet 
of the observer, the city of Hudson lies like a picture spread upon a table. 
Directly opposite the city is Athens, a thriving little village, lying upon 
the river slope, and having a connection with its more stately sister by 




' -^-'^ ^,ikl*' 



VIEW FROM THE PEOMENADi, HUDSON. 



means of a steam ferry-boat. It was first named Lunenberg, then 
Esperanza, and finally was incorporated under its present title. Behind 
it spreads out a beautiful country, inhabited by a population consisting 
chiefly of descendants of the Dutch. All through that region, from 
Coxsakie to Kingston, the Dutch language is still used in many families. 

The country around Hudson is hilly and very picturesque, every turn 
in the road affording pleasant changes in landscape and agreeable 
surprises. A little northward, Claverack {I£et Klaiiver JRaclc, the Clover 
Reach) Creek comes down from the hills in falls and cascades, and 



148 



THE HUDSON. 



presents many romantic little scenes, IS'ear its banks, a few miles from 
Hudson, are mineral springs, now rising into celebrity, and known as the 
Colnmbia Sulphur Springs. The accommodations for invalids and 
l)leasure-seekers are arranged in the midst of a fine hickory grove, and 
many persons spend the summer months there very delightfully, away 
from the fashionable crowd. The tourist should not omit a visit to these 
springs, nor to Lebanon Springs farther in the interior. The latter may 




be reached by railway and stage-coaches from Hudson, with small expen- 
diture of time and money. 

The Lebanon Springs are the resort of many people during the summer 
months, but the chief attraction there to the tourist is a village two miles 
distant, upon a mountain terrace, composed entirely of celibates of both 
sexes, and of all ages, called Shakers, They number about five hundred, 



* Tlie Hudson Iron Works are at the entrance of the South Baj', on a point of low land between the 
river and the railway. They belong to a Stock Company. The chief business is the conversion of the 
crude iron ore into " pigs " ready for the manufaetiu'er's use. Two kinds of ore are nscd— hematite from 
West Stockbridge, and magnetic from the Forest of Dean, Mines, in the Hudson Higlilands. They pro- 
duce about 16,000 tons of " pig-iron " annually. 



THE HUDSON. 149 



and own and occupy ten thousand acres of land, all of which susceptible 
of tillage is in a state of highest cultivation. The sect or society of this 
singular people originated in England a little more than one hundred 
years ago. Ann Lee, the young wife of a blacksmith, who had borne 
several children, conceived the idea that marriage was impure and sinful. 
She found disciples, and after being persecuted as a fanatic for several 
years, she professed to have had a direct revelation that she was the female 
manifestation of the Christ upon earth, the male manifestation having been 
Jesus, the Deity being considered a duality — a being composed of both 




ML^> AT K\.lZ-lvILL L VM>IN 



S3xes. She was, and still is, called " Mother Ann," and is revered by her 
followers with a feeling akin to worship. With a few of them she came 
to America, planted *' the church" a few miles from Albany, at a place 
called Niskayuna, and there died. There are now eighteen distinct 
communities of this singular people in the United States, the aggregate 
membership numbering little more than four thousand. The community 
at jS'ew Lebanon is the most perfect of all in its arrangements, and there 
the hierarchy of the "Millennial Church" reside. Their strange forms 



150 



THE HUDSON. 



of -worship, consisting chiefly in singing and dancing ; their quaint 
costume, their simple manners, their industry and frugality, the perfection 
of all their industrial operations, their chaste and exemplary lives, and 
the unsurpassed beauty and picturosqueness of the country in which they 
\u.'e seated, render a visit to the Shakers of Lebanon a long-to-be- 
remembered event in one's life. 

^bout six miles below Hudson is the Oak-Hill Station, opposite the 
Katz-Kill (Cats-Kill) landing, at the mouth of the Katz-Kill, a clear and 
beautiful stream that flows down from the hill country of Schoharie 
County for almost forty miles. It was near here that the Half Moon 
anchored on the 20th September, 1609, and was detained all the next day 
on account of the great number of natives who came on board, and had a 
meny time. Master Juet, one of Hudson's companions, says, in his 
journal, — " Our master and his mate determined to trio some of the 
chiefe men of the countrcy, whether they had any treachcrie in them. 
So they tooke tliem downe into the cabbin, and gave them so much wine 
and aqua vitcc that they were all merrie, and one of them had his wife with 
liim, which sate so modestly, as any of our countrey women would doe in 
a strange place. In the end, one of them was drunke, which had been 
aboord of our ship all the time tliat we had beene there : and that was 
strange to them, for they could not tell how to take it. The canoes and 
folke went all on shoarc, but some of them came againe, and brought 
stropes of bcales [wampum, made of the clam-shell] ; some had sixe, 
seven, eight, nine, ten, and gave him. So he slept all night quietly.'' 
The savages did not venture on board until noon the next day, when they 
were glad to find their old companion that was so drunk quite well again. 
They then brought on board tobacco, and^ more beads, which they gave to 
Hudson, " and made an Oration," and afterward sent for venison, which 
was brought on board. 

At the Oak Hill station the tourist upon the railway will leave it for a 
trip to the Ivatzbergs before him, upon which may be seen, at the distance 
of eight miles in an air line, the "Mountain House," the famous resort 
for hundreds of people who escape from the dust of cities during the heat 
of summer, Tlie river is crossed on a steam ferry-boat, and good 
omnibuses convey travellers from it to the pleasant village of Katz-KiU, 



THE HUDSON. 



151 



which lies upon a slope on the left bank of the stream bearing the same 
name, less than half a mile from its mouth. At the village, conveyances 
are ready at all times to take the tourist to the Mountain House, twelve 
miles distant by the road, which passes throxigh a picturesque and highly 
cultivated country, to the foot of the mountain. Before makiug this 




-^aMimiA, 




ENTRANCE TO THE KATZBEEGS 



tour, however, the traveller should linger awhile on the banks of the 
Katz-Kill, from the Hudson a few miles into the country, for there may 
be seen, from different points of view, some of the most charming scenery 
in the world. Every turn in the road, every bend in the stream, presents 



152 



THE HUDSON. 



new and attractive pictures, remarkable for beauty and diversity in 
outline, cdour, and aerial perspective. The solemn Katzbergs, sublime 
in form, and mysterious in their dim, incomprehensible, and ever-changing 
aspect, almost always form a prominent feature in the landscape. In the 
midst of this scenery. Cole, the eminent painter, loved to linger when the 
shadows of the early morning were projected towards the mountqjn, then 
bathed in purple mists ; or at evening, when these lofty hills, then dark 
and awful, cast their deep shadows over more than half the country 
below, between their bases and the river. Charmed with this region, 
Cole made it at fii'st a summer retreat, and finally his permanent residence, 
and there, in a fine old family mansion, delightfully situated to command 
a full view of the Katzberg range and the intervening country, his spirit 
passed from earth, while a sacred poem, created by his wealthy imagina- 
tion and deep religious sentiment, was finding expression upon his easel 
in a series of fine pictures, like those of "The Course of Empire," 
and " The Yoyage of Life." He entitled the series, " The Cross and the 
World." Only one of the pictures was finished. One had found form in 
a "study" only, and two others were partly finished on the large canvas. 
Another, making the fifth (the number in the series), was about half 
completed, with some figures sketched in with white chalk. So they 
remain, just as the master left them, and so remains his studio. It is 
regarded by his devoted widow as a place too sacred for the common gaze. 
The stranger never enters it. 

The range of the Katzbergs ^'- rises abruptly from the plain on their 
eastern side, where the road that leads to the Mountain House enters 
them, and follows the margin of a deep, dark glen, through which flows 
a clear mountain stream seldom seen by the traveller, but heard 
continually for a mile and a half, as, in swift rapids or in little cascades, 
it hurries to the plain below. The road is sinuous, and in its ascent along 
the side of that glen, or more properly magnificent gorge, it is so enclosed 
by the towering hills on one side and the lofty trees that shoot up on the 



* Tlie Indians called this range of hills On-ti-0-ra, signifj-ing, Mountains of llie Sky, for in some 
conditions of the atmosphere they are said to appear like a heavy cumulous cloud above the horizon. 
The Dutch called them Katzbergs, or Cat Mountains, because of the prevalence of panthers and wild-cats 
upon them. The word Cats-Kill is pai-tly EngUsh and partly Dutch : Katz-Kill, Dutch ; Cats-Creek, 
English. 



THE HUDSON. 



153 



other, that little can be seen beyond a few rods, except the sky above, or 
glimpses of some distant summit, until the pleasant nook in the mountain 
is reached, wherein the Cabin of Kip Van Winkle is nestled. After that 
the course of the road is more nearly parallel with the river and the 




WINKLi; S CABIN. 



plain, and through frequent vistas glimpses may bo caught of the country 
below, that charm the eye, excite the fancy and the imagination, and 
make the heart throb quicker and stronger with pleasurable emotions. 

Rip's cabin was a decent frame-house, as the Americans call dwellings 
made of wood, with two rooms, standing by the side of the road half-way 

X 



154 



THE HUDSON. 



from the plain to the Mountain House, a^'the head of the gorge, along 
whose margin the" traveller has ascended.-y^ It was so called because it 
stood within the " amphitheatre " reputed to be the place where the ghostly 
nine-pin players of Irving's charming story of E,ip Yan Winkle held their 
revel, and where thirsty Rip lay down to his long repose by "that wicked 
flagon," watched by his faithful dog "Wolf, and undisturbed, by the tongue 
of Dame Van "Winkle. As one stands upon the rustic bridge, in front of 
the cabin, and looks down the dark glen, up to the impending cliff's, or 
around in that rugged amphitheatre, the scene comes up vividly in memory, 
and the "company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins" 
reappear. "Some wore short doublets, others jerkins, with long knives 
in their belts, and most of them had enormous breeches, of similar style 
with that of the guides. Their visages, too, were peculiar : one had a 
large head, broad face, and small piggish eyes ; the face of another seemed 
to consist entirely of a nose, and was surmounted by a white sugar-loaf hat, 
set off" with a little red cock's tail. They all had beards, of various shapes 
and colours. There was one who seemed to be the commander. He was 
a stout old gentleman, with a weather-beaten countenance ; he wore a 
laced doublet, broad belt and hanger, and high-crowned hat and feather, 
red stockings, and high-heeled shoes with roses in them. What seemed 
particularly odd to Hip was, that though these folks were evidently 
amusing themselves, yet they maintained the gravest faces, the most 
mysterious silence, and were withal the most melancholy party of pleasure 
he had ever witnessed. Nothing interrupted the stillness of the scene but 
the noise of the balls, which, whenever they were rolled, echoed along the 
mountains like rumbling peals of thunder." 

Such was the company to whom hen-pecked Eip Van Winkle, wandering 
upon the mountains on a squirrel hunt, was introduced by a mysterious 
stranger carrying a keg of liquor, at autumnal twilight. And there it was 
that thirsty Rip drank copiously, went to sleep, and only awoke when 
twenty years had rolled away. His dog was gone, and his rusty gun- 
barrel, bereft of its stock, lay by his side. He doubted his identity. He 
sought the village tavern and its old frequenters ; his own house, and his 
faithful Wolf. Alas! everything was changed, except the river and the 
mountains. Only one thing gave him real joy — Dame Van Winkle's 



THE HUDSON. 155 



terrible tongue had been silenced for ever by death ! He was a mystery 
to all, and more a mystery to himself than to others. Whom had he met 
in the mountains ? those queer fellows that reminded him of " the figures 
in an old Flemish painting, in the parlour of Dominic Van Schaick, the 
village parson. Sage Peter Vonderdonck was called to explain the 
mystery ; and Peter successfully responded. He asserted that it was a 
fact, handed down from his ancestor, the historian, that the Kaats-Kill 
Mountains had always been haunted by strange beings. That it was 
affirmed that the great Hendrick Hudson, the first discoverer of the river 
and country, kept a kind of vigil there every twenty years, with his crew 
of the Half-Moon, beiug permitted in this way to revisit the scenes of his 
enterprise, and kept a guardian eye upon the river and the great city called 
by his name. That his father had once seen them, in their old Dutch 
dresses, playing at nine-pins in a hollow of the mountain ; and that himself 
had heard, one summer afternoon, the sound of their balls, like distant 
peals of thunder." Rip's veracity was vindicated ; his daughter gave him 
a comfortable home ; and the grave historian of the event assures us that 
the Dutch inhabitants, "even to this day, never hear a thunder-storm 
of a summer afternoon about the Kaats-Kill, but they say, Hendrick 
Hudson and his crew are at their game of nine-pins." 

The Yan Winkle of our day, who lived in the cottage by the mountain 
road-side as long as a guest lingered at the great mansion above him, was 
no kin to old Rip, and we strongly suspect that his name was borrowed ; 
but he kept refreshments that strengthened many a weary toiler up the 
mountain — liquors equal, no doubt, to those in the "wicked flagons" that 
the ancient one served to the ghostly company — and from a rude spout 
poured cooling draughts into his cabin from a mountain spring, more 
delicious than ever came from the juice of the grape. 

There are many delightful resting-places upon the road, soon after 
leaving Rip's cabin, as we toil wearily up the mountain, where the eye 
takes in a magnificent panorama of hill and valley, forest and river, 
hamlet and village, and thousands of broad acres where herds graze and 
the farmer gathers his crops, — much of it dimly refined because of distance 
— a beautifully coloured map rather than a picture. These delight the 
eye and quicken the pulse, as has been remarked ; but there is one place 



156 



THE HUDSON. 



upon that road where the ascending weary ones enjoy more exquisite 
pleasure for a moment than at any other point in all that mountain region. 
It is at a turn in the road where the Mountain House stands sudddnly 
before and above the traveller, revealed in perfect distinctness — column, 
capital, window, rock, people — all apparently only a few rods distant. 
There, too, the ]-oad is level, and the traveller rejoices in the assurance 
that the toilsome journey is at an cu<l ; when, suddenly, he finds himself, 
like the young pilgrim in Cole's " Yoyagc of Life," disappointed in his 




MOUNTAIN HOUSE, FBOM THE KOAD, 



course. The road that seemed to be leading directly to that beautiful 
mansion, upon the crag just above him, turns away, like the stream that 
appeared to be taking the ambitious young voyager directly to the shadowy 
temple of Fame in the clouds ; and many a weary step must be taken, 
over a crooked, hilly road, before the traveller can reach the object of his 
journey. 

The grand rock-platform, upon which the Mountain House stands, is 
reached at last ; and then comes the full recompense for all weari- 
ness. Bathed — immersed — in pure mountain air, almost three thousand 



THE HUDSON. 157 



feet above tide-water, full, positive, enduring rest is given to every 
muscle after a half hour's respiration of that invigorating atmosphere ; 
and soul and limb arc ready for a longer, loftier, and more rugged 
ascent. 

There is something indescribable in the pleasure experienced during the 
first hour passed upon the piazza of the Mountain House, gazing upon the 
scene toward the east. That view has been described a thousand times. 
I shall not attempt it. Much rhetoric, and rhyme, and sentimental 
platitudes have been employed in the service of description, but none have 
conveyed to my mind a picture so graphic, truthful, and satisfactory as 
Natty Bumpo's reply to Edward's question, in one of Cooper's " Leather- 
Stocking Tales," " What see you when you get there ? " 

"^Creation I " said Natty, dropping the end of his rod into the water, 
and sweeping one hand around him in a circle, "all creation, lad. I was 
on that hill when Yaughan burnt 'Sopus, in the last war, and I saw the 
vessels come out of the Highlands as plainly as I can see that lime-scow 
rowing into the Susquehanna, though one was twenty times further from 
me than the other.-'' The river was in sight for seventy miles under my 
feet, looking like a curled shaving, though it was eight long miles to its 
banks. I saw the hills in the Hampshire Grants, the Highlands of the 
river, and all that God had done, or man could do, as far as the eye could 
reach — you know that the Indians named me for my sight, ladf — and from 
the flat on the top of that mountain, I have often found the place where 
Albany stands; and as for 'Sopus! the day the royal troops burnt the 
town, the smoke seemed so nigh that I thought I could hear the screeches 
of the women." 

" It must have been worth the toil, to meet with such a glorious view." 

" If being the best part of a mile in the air, and having men's farms at 
your feet, with rivers looking like ribands, and mountains bigger than the 
' Vision,' seeming to be haystacks of green grass under you, give any 
satisfaction to a man, I can recommend the spot." 



* Reference is here made to the burning of the village of Kingston (whose Indian name of E-so-pits 
vas retained until a recent period), by a British force imder General Vaiighan, in the Autumn of 1777. 
t "Hawk-Eye." 



158 THE HUDSON. 



The aerial pictures seen from the Mountain House are sometimes 
marvellous, especially during a shower in the plain, when all is sunshine 
ahove, while the lightning plays and the thunder rolls far below the 
dwellers upon the summits ; or after a storm, when mists are driving over 
the mountains, struggling with the wind and sun, or dissolving into 
invisibility in the pure air. At rare intervals, an apparition, like the 
spectre of the Brocken, may be seen. A late writei-, who was once there 
during a summer storm, was favoured with the sight. The guests were 
in the parlour, when it was announced that "the house was going past 
on the outside ! " All rushed to the piazza, and there, sure enough, upon 
a moving cloud, more dense than the fog that enveloped the mountain, was 
a perfect picture of the great building, in colossal proportions. The mass 
of vapour was passing slowly from north to south, directly in front, at a 
distance, apparently, of two hundred feet from the building, and reflected 
the noble Corinthian columns which ornament the front of the building, 
every window, and all the spectators. The cloud moved on, and ' ' ere 
long," says the writer, " we saw one pillar disappear, and then another. 
"We, ourselves, who were expanded into Brobdignags in size, saw the gulf 
into which we were to enter and be lost. I almost shuddered when my 
turn came, but there was no eluding my fate ; one side of my face was 
veiled, and in a moment the whole had passed like a dream. An instant 
before, and we were the inhabitants of a 'gorgeous palace,' but it was 
the 'baseless fabric of a vision,' and now there was left 'not a wreck 
behind.' " 

As a summer shower passes over the plain below, the eftect at the 
Mountain House is sometimes truly gi'and, even when the lightning is not 
seen or the thunder heard. A young woman sitting at tlie side of the 
writer when this page was penned, and who had recently visited that 
eyrie, recorded her vision and impressions on the spot. "The whole 
scene before us," she says, " was a vast panorama, constantly varying and 
changing. The blue of the depths and distances — clouds, mountains, and 
shadows — was such that the perception entered into our very souls. How 
shall I describe the colour? It was not mazarine, because there was no 
blackness in it ; it was not sunlit atmosphere, because there was no white 
brightness in it ; and yet there was a sort of hidden, beaming brilliancy, 



THE HUDSON. 



159 



that completely absorbed our eyes and hearts. It was not the blue of water, 
because it was not liquid or crystal-like ; it was something as the calm, 

soft, lustre of a steady blue eye And how various were the forms 

and motions of the vapour ! Hills, mountains, domes, pyramids, wreaths 
and sprays of mist arose, mounted, hung, fell, curled, and almost leaped 
before us, white with their own spotlessness, but not bright with the sun's 

rays, for the luminary was still obscured We looked down to 

behold what we might discover. A breath of heaven cleared the mist 




VIEW FROM SOI'JII MOUNTAIN. 



from below, — softly at first, but gradually more decisive. Larger and 
darker became a spot in the magic depths, when, lo ! as in a vision, fields, 
trees, fences, and the habitations of men were revealed before our eyes. 
For the first time something real and refined lay before us, far down in 
that wonderful gulf. Far beneath heaven and us slept a speck of creation, 
unlighted by the evening rays that touched us, and colourless in the 
twilight obscurity. Intently we watched the magic glass, but — did we 
breathe upon its surface ? — a mist fell before us, and we looked up as if 
awakened from a dream." 



160 



THE HUDSON. 



Althougli the Mountain House is far below the higher summits of the 
range, portions of four States of the Union, and an area of about ten 
thousand square miles, are comprised in the scope of vision from its piazza. 
From the top of the South Mountain near, and three hundred feet above 
the Mountain House, and of the North Mountain more distant and higher, 
a greater range of sight may be obtained, including a portion of a fifth 
State. Prom the latter, a majestic view of mountain scenery, and of the 
lowlands southward, may be obtained at the price of a little fatigue, for 
which full compensation is given. The Katers-Kill* lakes, lying in a 
basin a short distance from the Mountain House, with all their grand 
surroundings, the house itself, and the South Mountain, and the Eound 
Top or Liberty Cap, form the middle ground ; while in the dim distance 
the winding Hudson, with the Esopus, Shawangunk, and Highland ranges- 
are revealed, the borders of the river dotted with villas and towns 
appearing mere white specks on the landscape. 





CHAPTER IX. 

LITTLE more than tvro miles from the Mountain 
ie, by a rough road, is an immense gorge 
scooped from the rugged hills, into which pours 
the gentle outlet of the little Katcrs-Kill lakes, in 
a fall first of one hundred and seventy-five feet, 
and close to it another of eighty feet. The falls 
have been so well described by the " Leather- 
stocking " ("Natty Bumpo"), that a better 
picture cannot be drawn : — 
There's a place," said JS'atty, after describing the view from 
t^ the Platform Rock at the Mountain House, "that in late times I 
M relished better than the mountains, for it was more kivered by the 
/ trees, and more nateral." 

" And where was that?" inquired Edwards. 
*' Why, there's a fall in the hills, where the water of two little ponds, 
that lie near each other, breaks out of their bounds, and runs over the 
rocks into the valley. The stream is, may be, such a one as would turn 
a mill, if so useless a thing was wanted in the wilderness. But the hand 
that made that ' Leap ' never made a mill ! There the water comes 
crooking and winding among the rocks, first so slow that a trout might 
swim in it, and then starting and running, just like any creatur that 
wanted to make a far spring, till it gets to where the mountain divides 
like the cleft hoof of a deer, leaving a deep hollow for the brook to 
tumble into. The first pitch is nigh two hundred feet, and the water 
looks like flakes of driven snow afore it touches the bottom ; and then the 
stream gathers itself together again for a new start, and may be flutters 
over fifty feet of flat rock, before it falls for another hundred, where it 
jumps about from shelf to shelf, first turning this-a- way, and then turning 



162 



THE HUDSON. 



that-a-way, striving to get out of the hollow, till it finally comes to the 

plain The rock sweeps like mason- work in a half-round on both 

sides of the fall, and shelves over the bottom for fifty feet ; so that when 
I've been sitting at the foot of the first pitch, and my hounds have run 




^.%^^ :V^ 



KATEES-KILL FAILS. 



into the caverns behind the sheet of water, they've looked no bigger than 
so many rabbits. To my judgment, lad, it's the best piece of work I've 
met with in the woods ; and none know how often the hand of God is seen 
in the wilderness, but them that rove it for a man's life." 
" Does the water run into the Delaware ? " asked Edwards. 



THE HUDSON. 



163 



" No, no, it's a drop for the old Hudson : and a merry time it has until 
it gets down off the mountain." 

And if the visitor would enjoy one of the wildest and most romantic 
rambles in the world, let him follow that little stream on its way "off the 
mountains," down' the deep, dark, mysterious gorge, until it joins the 
Katers-Kill proper, that rushes through the "Clove" froni the neigh- 
bourhood of Hunter, among the hills above, and thence onward to the 
plain. 

It was just after a storm when we last visited these falls. The traces 
of "delicate-footed May" were upon every shrub and tree. Tiny leaves 
were just unfolding all over the mountains, and the snowy dogwood 
blossoms were bursting into beauty on every hand. Yot mementoes of 
winter were at the falls. In the cavern at the back of them, heaps of ice 
lay piled, and a chilling mist came sweeping up the gorge, at quick 
iutervals, filling the whole amphitheatre with shadowy splendour when 
sunlight fell upon, it from between the dissolving clouds. "While 
.'sketching the cascades, memory recux-red to other visits we had made there 
in midsummer, when tlic wealth of foliage lay upon tree and shrub ; and 
also to a description given us by a lady, of her visit to the falls in winter, 
Avith Colo, the artist, when the frost had crystallised the spray into 
gorgeous fret-work all over the rocks, and made a spcndid cylinder of 
milk-white ice from the base to the crown of the upper cascade. Of these 
phases Bryant has sung : — 



' Midst greens and shades the Katers-Kill leaps, 

From cliffs where the wood-flower clings ; 

All summer he moistens his verdant steeps. 

With the sweet light spray of the mountain springs 

And he shakes the woods on the mountain side. 

When they drip with the rains of autumn tide. 

'But when, in the forests bare and old, 
The blast of December calls, 
He builds, in the star-light clear and cold, 
A palace of ice, where his torrent falls, 
With turret, and arch, and fret-work fair. 
And pillars blue as the summer air." 



The tourist, if he fails to traverse the rugged gorge, should not omit 
a ride from the Mountain House, down through the "Clove" to Palensvillc 



164 



THE HUDSON. 



and tlie plain, a distance of about eight miles. Unpleasant as was the day 
■when we last visited the mountains, we returned to Katz-Kill by that 
circuitous route. After leaving the falls, we rode about three miles before 
reachin"- the " Clove." Huge masses of vapour came rolling up from its 
lower depths, sometimes obscuring everything around us, and then, 




THE I'AW^'S LEA]'. 



drifting away, laving the lofty summits of the mountains that stretch far 
southward, gleaming in the fitful sunlight, and presenting unsurpassed 
exhibitions of aerial perspective. Down, down, sometimes with only a 
narrow space between the base of a high mountain on one side, and steep 



THE HUDSON. 



165 



precipices upon the other, whose feet are washed by the rushing Katers- 
Kill, our crooked road pursued its way, now passing a log-house, now a 
pleasant cottage, and at length the ruins of a leather manufacturing village, 
deserted because the bark upon the hills around, used for tanning, is 
exhausted. Kear this picturesque scene, the Katers-Kill leaps into a 




SCENE OX THE KATERS-KILL, NEAR PALEXSVILLE. 



seething gulf between cleft rocks, and flows gently on to make still greater 
plunges into darker depths a short distance below. This cleft in the rocks 
is called the Fawn's Leap, a young deer having there escaped a hunter 
and his dog, that pursued to the verge of the chasm. The fawn leaped it, 



166 



THE HUDSON. 



but the dog, attempting to follow, fell into the gulf below and was 
drowned. The foiled hunter went home, without dog or game. By some, 
less poetical than others, the place is called the Dog Hole. 

A few rods below the Fawn's Leap, the road crosses a rustic bridge, at 
the foot of a sheer precipice, and foi; half a mile traverses a shelf cut from 
the mountain side, two hundred feet above the stream that has found its 
way into depths so dark as to be hardly visible. Upon the opposite side 
of the creek a perpendicular wall rises many hundred feet, and then in 
slight inclination the mountain towers up at least a thousand feet higher, 
and forms a portion of the range known as the South Mountain. At the 
mouth of this cavernous gorge lies the pretty little village of Palensville, 
where we again cross the stream, and in a few moments find ourselves 
upon a beautiful and highly cultivated plain. From this point, along the 
base of the mountains to the road by which we enter them, or more directly 
to Katz-Kill, the drive is a delightful one. 

From the lower borders of Columbia County, opposite Katz-Kill village, 
to Hyde Park, in Duchess County, a distance of thirty miles, the east 
bank of the Hudson is distinguished for old and elegant country scats, 
most of them owned and occupied by the descendants of wealthy 
proprietors who flourished in the last century, and were connected by 
blood and marriage with Robert Livingston, a Scotch gentleman, of 
the family of the Earls of Linlithgow, who came to America in 1672, 
and married a member of the Schuyler family, the widow of a Van 
Eensselaer. . He lived at Albany, and was secretary to the Commissioners 
of Indian Affairs for a long time. From 1684 to 1715 he had, from 
time to time, purchased of the Indians, and secured by patents from the 
English crown, large tracts of land in the present Columbia County. 
This land was then mostly wild and unprofitable, but became the basis 
of great family wealth. 

In the year 1710 Livingston's grants were consolidated, and Hunter, 
the royal governor, gave him a patent for a tract of a little more than 
one hundred and sixty-two thousand acres, for which he was to pay into 
the king's treasury "an annual rent of twenty-eight shillings, lawful 
money of New York," a trifle over fourteen shillings sterling! This 
magnificent estate was constituted a manor, with political privileges. 



THE HUDSON. 



167 



The freeholders upon it were allowed a representative in the colonial 
legislature, chosen by themselves, and in 1716 the lord of the manor, by 
virtue of that privilege, took his seat as a legislator. He had already 
built a manor-house, on a grassy point upon the banks of the Hudson, at 




OLD CILIMON I 



the mouth of Roeleffe Jansen's Kill, or Ancrain Creek, of which hardly a 
vestige now remains.-'" 

The lord of the manor gave, by his will, the lower portion of his 
domain to his son Eobert, who built a finer mansion than the old manor- 
house, and named his seat Clermont. This was sometimes called the 



* In the year 1710 Governor Hunter, by order of Queen Anne, bought of Mr. Livingston 6,000 acres 
of his manor, tor the sum of a little more than £200, for the use of Protestant Germans then in England, 
who had been driven from their homes in the Lower Palatinate of the Khine, then the dominions of a 
cousin of the British Queen. About 1,800 of them settled upon the manor lands, and at a place on the 
opposite shore of the river, the respective localities being known as East and West Camp. These 
Germans were called Palatines, and are represented as the most enlightened people of their native land. 
Among them was the widow Hannah Zenger, whose son, John Peter, apprenticed to William Bradford, 
the printer, became, in after life, the impersonation of the struggling democratic idea. He published a 
democratic newspaper, and because he commented freely upon the conduct of the royal governor, he 
was imprisoned and prosecuted for a libel. A jury acquitted him, in tlie midst of great cheering by tlie 
people. His counsel was presented with the freedom of the cily of New York in a gold box. By that 
verdict democratic ideas, and the freedom of the press, were nobly vindicated. 



168 



THE HUDSON. 



Lower Manor-house. There Robert E.. Livingston, the eminent Chan- 
cellor of the State of New York, and associate of Robert Fulton, in his 
steamboat experiments, was born. After his marriage he built a 
dwelling for himself, a little south of Old Clermont. His zeal in the 
Republican cause, at the kindling of the revolution, made him an arch 
rebel in the estimation of the British ministry and the officers in the 
service of the crown in America; and when, in the autumn of 1777, 
General Vaughan, at the head of the royal troops, went up the Hudson, 




I 



on a marauding expedition, to produce a diversion in favour of Burgoyne, 
then environed by the American army at Saratoga, they proceeded as 
high as Clermont, burnt Livingston's new house, and the old one, where 
he was born, and where his widowed mother resided, and then retreated 
to New York. Mrs. Livingston immediately built another mansion at 
Old Clermont, on the site of the ruins, which was occupied by Mr. Cler- 
mont Livingston when these sketches were prepared, and her "rebel" 
son erected for himself a more elegant one than that which had been 
destroyed, a little distance from the ruins. This he named also Clermont. 



THE HUDSON. 



169 



It was well preserved in its original style by the Misses Clarkson, the 
present proprietors. The mansion is beautifully situated, and, like all 
the villas in this neighbourhood, commands a fine prospect of the Katz- 
bergs. It was described, as long ago as 1812, as "one of the most 
commodious houses in the State, having a river front of 104 feet, and a 
depth of 91 feet, and consisting of a main body of two stories and four 
pavilions," in one of wjiich the chancellor had "a library of 4,000 well- 
chosen volumes." There he died in the spring of 1813. 

"Mr. Livingston," says a contemporary, "was a very useful and 
benevolent man, a scholar of profound erudition, an ardent patriot, and a 
prompt and decided promoter of all the essential interests of the country." 
He took special interest in improvements in agriculture and manufactures, 
and on his return to the United States, from an embassy to France, at the 
beginning of the present century, he introduced into this country some of 
the finest specimens of the Merino sheep, from the celebrated flock of 
Rambouillet in France. As early as 1812, it was estimated that there 
were in the United States at least 60,000 descendants of the Clermont 
flock, of which about 1,000 were at Clermont. 

Mr. Livingston's chief honour as a man of science, and promoter of 
useful interests, is derived from his aid and encouragement in eff'orts 
which resulted in the entire success of steam navigation. As early as 
1797, he was engaged with an Englishman named Nesbit in experiments. 
They built a steamboat on the Hudson river, at a place now known as 
De Koven's Cove, or Bay, about half a mile below TivoH, or Upper Red 
Hook Landing. Brunei, the engineer of the Thames Tunnel, and father 
of the originator and constructor of the Great Eastern steamship, was the 
engineer. The enterprise was not successful. Livingston entered upon 
other experiments, when he was interrupted by his appointment as 
United States minister to the court of France. In Paris he became 
acquainted with Robert Fulton's experiments there. With his science 
and money, Livingston joined him. They succeeded in their undertaking, 
as proved by demonstrations on the Seine, returned to America, and in 
1806 imported a steam-engine, made by Watt and Bolton, in England. 
A boat was constructed at Brown's ship-yard, in New York, and was 
completed in August, 1807, when it was propelled by its machinery to 



170 



THE HUDSON. 



Hobokcn, on the Jersey shore, where John Stevens (Mr. Livingston's 
brother-in-laTv) had been experimenting in the same direction for fifteen 
years. That first successful steamboat was named Clermont, in compli- 




IKW AT DK KOV 



ment to Chancellor Livingston, and made her first voyage to Albany at 
the beginning of September, 1807.-^ 

At Tivoli is the mansion of John Swift Livingston, Esq., built before 



* The Clermunt was 100 feet long, 12 feet wide, and 7 feet deep. The following ads'ertisement 
appeared in the Albany Gazette on the 1st of September, 1807 : — 

' " The North Hirer Steamboat will leave Paulus's Hook 

j [.Jersey City] on Friday, the 4th of September, at 9 in the 

morning, and arrive at Albany on Satiu-day, at 9 in the 
afternoon. Pi-ovisions, good berths, and accommodation are 
provided. The charge to eadi passenger is as follows : — 
To Newbtirgh, Dollars, 3 Time, 14 hours. 
„ Poiiglikeepsie „ 4 >> 17 „ 
„ Esopus „ 5 „ 20 „ 

„ Hudson „ 5 J „ 30 „ 

„ Albany „ 7 „ 36 „ 

nil cLri ^ uM. '-yu; Fulton's new steamboat," said the same paper, on 

the 5th of October, " left New York on the 2nd, at 10 o'clock, 
A.M., against a strong tide, verj' rough water, and a violent gale from the north. She made a headway, 
against the most sanguine expectations, and without being rocked by the waves ! " 




THE HUDSON. 



171 



the war for independence. It is surrounded by a pleasant park and 
gardens, and commands a view of tlie village of Saugerties, on the west 
shore of the Hudson, and that portion of the Katzbergs on which the 
Mountain House stands. That building may be seen, as a white spot on 
the distant hills, in our sketch. Mr. Livingston's house was occupied by 
one of that name when the British burnt Old Clermont and the residence 
of the chancellor. They landed in De Koven's Cove, or Bay, just below, 
and came up witli destructive intent, supposing this to be the residence 




LIVINGSTON'S MANSION AT TIVOLI. 



of the arch offender. The proprietor was a good-humoured, hospitable 
man. He soon convinced the invaders of their error, supplied them 
bountifully with wine and other refreshments, and made them so kindly 
and cheery, that had he been the "rebel" himself, they must have spared 
his property. They passed on, performed their destructive errand, partook 
of the good things of Mr. Livingston's larder and wine-cellar on their 
return, and sailed down the river to apply the torcn to Kingston, a few 
miles below. ) 

Opposite Tivoli, in Ulster County, is the pleasant village of Sauger- 



172 THE HUDSON. 



ties,^-' near the mouth of the Esopus Creek, which comes flowing from the 
south through a beautiful valley, and enters the Hudson here. Iron, 
paper, and white-lead are manufactured there extensively, and between 
the river and the mountains are almost inexhaustible quarries of flagging 
stone. A once picturesque fall or rapid, around which a portion of the 
village is clustered, has been partially destroyed by a dam and unsightly 




MOUTU OF ESOl'L'S CEEEK, SAUGEETIES. 



bridge above it, yet some features of grandeur and beauty remain. The 
chief business part of the village lies upon a plain with the Katzbergs for 
a background, and on the high right bank of the creek, where many of 
the flrst-class residences arc situated, an interesting view of the mouth of 
Zaeger's Kill, or Esopus Creek, with the lighthouse, river, and the fertile 
lands on the eastern shore, may be obtained. Near this village was the 
"West Camp of the Palatines, already mentioned. 

About five miles below Tivoli is Annandale, the seat of John 



* Incorporated Ulster in 1S31. The name is derived from Uie Dirtcli word Zaeger, a sawyer. Peter 
Pietersen liav-ing built a saw-mUl at tlie Falls, where the village stands, the stream w^as called Sawyer's 
Creek, or Zaeger's Kill, since, by coiTuption, Saugerties. 



THE HUDSON. 



173 




Bard, Esq. As we approached it from the north on a pleasant day in 
June, along the picturesque road that links almost a score of beautiful 
villas, the attention was suddenly arrested by the appearance of an elegant 
little church, built of stone in the early Anglo-Gothic style, standing on 
the verge of an open park. Xear it was a long building, in similar style 
of architecture, in course of erection. On inquiry, we found the church 
to be that of the Holy Innocents, built by the proprietor of Annandale 
upon his estate, for the use of the inhabitants of that region as a free 
chapel. The new building was for 
St. Stephen's College, designed as a 
training school for those who are pre- 
paring to enter the General Theological 
Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal 
Cliurch, in New York city. For this 
purpose Mr. Bard had appropriated, 
as a gratuity, the munificent sum of 
60,000 dollars. He had deeded eigh- 
teen acres of land to the College, and pledged 1,000 dollars a year for the 
support of a professor in it. The institution had been formally recognised 
as the Diocesan Training College; the legislature of New York had 
granted the trustees an act of iacorporatiou, and liberal subscriptions had 
been made to place it upon a stable foundation. In the midst of the 
grove of fine old trees seen in the direction of the river bank from the 
road near the College, stands the YiUa of Annandale, like all its 
neighbours commanding extensive river and mountain scenery. 

V Adjoining Annandale on the south is Montgomery Place, the residence 
of the family of the late Edward Livingston, brother of the Chancellor, 
who is distinguished in the annals of his country as a leading United 
States senator, the author of the penal code of the State of Louisiana, and 
ambassador to France. The elegant mansion was built by the widow of 
General Richard Montgomery, a companion-in-arms of "Wolfe when he 
fell at Quebec, and who perished under the walls of that city at the head 
of a storming party of Pepublicans on the 31st of December, 1775. 
Montgomery was one of the noblest and bravest men of his age. "When 
he gave his young wife a parting kiss at the house of General Schuylei', 



174 



THE HUDSON. 



at Saratoga, and hastened to join that oiScer at Tieonderoga, in the 
campaign that proved fatal to Lim, he said, " You shall never blush for 
your Montgomery." Gallantly did he vindicate that pledge. And when 
his virtues were extolled by Earre, Burke, and others in the British 
parliament, Lord North exclaimed, " Curse on his virtues ; he has undone 
his country, "y 

The wife of Montgomery was a sister of Chancellor Livingston. "With 
ample pecuniary means and good taste at command, she built this mansion. 




MO>'TGO.MERy PLACE. 



and there spent fifty years of widowhood, childless, but cheerful. The 
mansion and its 400 acres passed into the possession of her brother 
Edward, and there, as we have observed, members of his family now reside. 
Of all the fine estates along this portion of the Hudson, this is said to be 
the most perfect in its beauty and arrangements. Waterfalls, picturesque 
bridges, romantic glens, groves, a magnificent park, one of the most 
beautiful of the ornamental gardens in this country, and views of the river 
and mountains, unsurpassed, render Montgomery Place a retreat to be 
coveted, even by the most favoured of fortune. , 



THE HUDSON. 



175 



vTour- miles by the railway below Tivoli is the Barry town Station, or 
Lower Red Hook Landing. The villages of Upper and Lower lied Hook, 
like most of the early towns along the Hudson, lie back from the river. 
Tivoli and Barry town are their respective ports. ^ short distance below 
the latter, connected by a winding avenue with the public road already 
mentioned, is llokeby, the . seat of William B. Astor, Esq., who is 
distinguished as the wealthiest man in the United States. It was formerly 
the residence of his father-in-law. General John Armstrong, an officer in 




THE KATZBERGS IKO.M iMOKTGOMEKV PLACJ 



the war for independence, and a member of General Gates's military 
family. Armstrong was the author of the celebrated addresses which 
were privately circulated among the officers of the Continental Array lying 
at Newburgh, on the Hudson, at the close of the war, and calculated to 
stir up a mutiny, and even a rebellion against the civil power. The feeble 
Congress had been unable for a long time to provide for the pay of the 
soldiers about to be disbanded and sent home in poverty and rags. There 
was apathy in Congress and among the people on the subject; and these 
addresses were intended to stir up the latter and their representatives to 



176 



THE HUDSON. 



the performance of their duty in making some provision for their faithful 
servants, rather than to excite the army to take affairs into their own 
hand, as was charged. Through the wisdom and firmness of "Washington, 
the event was so overruled as to give honour to the army and benefit the 
countiy. Washington afterwards acquitted Major Armstrong of all evil 
intentions, and considered his injudicious movement (instigated, it is 
supposed, by Gates) as a patriotic act. j 

Armstrong afterwards married a sister of Chancellor Livingston, and 








was chosen successively to a seat in the United States senate, an 
ambassador to Pi'ance, a brigadier-general in the army, and secretary-of- 
war. He held the latter office while England and the United States were 
at war, in 1812-14. He was the author of a "Life of General Mont- 
gomery," "Life of General "Wayne," and "Historical Notices of the "War 
of 1812." Eokeby, where this eminent man lived and died, is delightfully 
situated, in the midst of an undulating park, farther from the river than 
the other villas, but commanding some interesting glimpses of it, with 
more distant landscapes and mountain scenery. Among the latter may 
be seen the range of the Shawangunk (pronounced shon-gum), in the far 



THE HUDSON. 177 




south-west. Here Mr. Astor's family reside about eight months of the 
year. ) 

A few miles below Rokeby, and lying upon an elevated plain two miles 
from the river, is the beautiful village of Ehinebeck, containing little 
more than 1,000 inhabitants. The first settler was William Beekman, or 
Beckman, who came from the Rhine, in Germany, in 1647, purchased all 
this region from the Indians, and gave homes to several poor families who 
came with him. The name of the river in 
his fatherland, and his own, are commemo- 
rated in the title of the town — Hhine-Beck. 
The house built by him is yet standing, upon 
a high point near the Ehinebeck station. 
It is a stone building. The bricks of which 
the chimney is constructed were imported 
from Holland. In this house the first public 
religious services in that region were held, 

and it was used as a fortress in early times, against the Indians. It 
now belongs to the Heermance family, descendants of early settlers 
there. Beekman' s son, Henry, afterwards procured a patent from the 
English government for a very extensive tract of land in Duchess County, 
im*luding his Ehinebeck estate. 

( Just below the Ehinebeck Station is EUerslie, the seat of the Hon. 
"William Xelly. No point on the Hudson commands a more interesting 
view of the river and adjacent scenery, than the southern front of the 
mansion at EUerslie. The house is at an elevation of two hundred feet 
above the river, overlooking an extensive park. The river is in full view 
for more than fourteen miles. At the distance of about thirty-five miles 
are seen the Fish-Kill Mountains, and the Hudson Highlands, while on 
tl^ west, the horizon is bounded by the lofty Katzbergs. ) 

(EUerslie is ninety miles from New York city, and contains about seven 
hundred acres of land, with a front on the river of a mile and a-half. Its 
character is different from that of an ordinary villa residence, being 
cultivated with much care as a farm, whilst great regard is had to 
improving its beauty, and developing landscape effects. The lawn and 
gardens occupy thirty acres; the greenhouse, graperies, &c., are among 

A A 



178 



THE HUDSON. 



the most complete in this country. The park contains three hundred 
acres; its surface is undulated, with masses of old trees scattered over it, 
and upon it feeds a lai'ge herd of thorough-bred Durham cattle, Avhich the 
proprietor considers a more appropriate ornament than would be a herd 
of deer. ^ 

{A mile below EUerslie is WilderclifF,*' the seat of Miss Mary Garrettson, 
daughter of the eminent Methodist preacher, Freeborn Garrettson, who 
married a sister of Chancellor Livingston. The mansion is a very modest 




one, compared with some in its neighbourhood. It was built in accordance 
with the simple tastes of the original proprietor. Mr. Garrettson was a 
leader among the plain Methodists in the latter part of the last century, 
when that denomination was beginning to take fast hold upon the public 
mind in America, and his devoted, blameless life did much to commend 
his people to a public disposed to deride them. ] 



* More properly Wilder KLippc. Tliis is a Dutch word, signifying wild man's, or wild Indian's, 
cliffe. The first settlers found upon a smooth rock, on the river shore, at this place, a rude delineation 
of two Indians, one with a tomahawk, and the other a calumet, or pipe of peace. This gave them the 
idea of the name. 



TilE HUDSON. 



179 



The very beautiful view from this mansion, down the river, is 
exceedingly charming for its simple beauty, so much in harmony with 
the associations of the place. In the centre of the lawn stood a sun-dial. 
On the left was a magnificent wide-spreading elm. On the right, through 
the trees, might be seen the cultivated western shore of the Hudson, with 
the mountains beyond, and in front was the river, stretching away south- 
ward, at all times dotted with the white sails of water-craft. TXhis 
mansion has many associations connected with the early struggles of 




VIEW FROM WILDERCLIFF. 



Methodism, very dear to the hearts of those who love that brancli of the 
Christian church.} 

.When Mr. Garrettson left the Church of England, in which he had 
been educated, the Methodists were despised in most places. He was a 
native of Maryland. Eminently conscientious, he gave liis slaves their 
freedom, and entering upon his ministry, preached everywhere, on all 
occasions and at all times, offending the wicked and delighting the good, 
and fearless of all men, having full faith in a special Providence, and 
oftentimes experiencing proofs of the truth of the idea to which he clung. 
One example of his proofs may be cited. A mob had seized him on one 



180 THE HUDSON. 



occasion, and were taking him to prison by order of a magistrate, when 
a flash of lightning dispersed them, and they left him unmolested. In 
1788 he was appointed Presiding Elder over the churches in the district, 
extending from Long Island Sound to Lake Champlain, more than two 
hundred miles. One of his converts was the daughter of Judge Livingston, 
of Clermont. Mr. Garrettson married her in 1793, and six years after- 
wards they built the mansion at Wildercliff. Probably no house in the 
world has ever held within it so many Methodist preachers as this, from 
the most humble of "weak vessels" up to Bishop Asbury, and other 
dignitaries of the church ; for, with ample means at command, the doors 
of Mr. Garrettson and his wife were ever open to all, especially to their 
brethren in the ministry. ) And that generous hospitality is yet dispensed 
by the daughter, whose table is seldom without a guest. 









O^Xj] 



CHAPTER X. 




/If 



PPOSITE Rhinebeck Station is the old Kingston Landing, 

where the three thousand }5ritish troops under General 

Vaughan disembarked, and marched to the village of 

Kingston, two miles in the interior, and laid it in 

ashes. That point was the port of Kingston until 

within a few years, and the New York and Albany steamboats 

stopped there, but the thriving village at the mouth of the Eondout 

Creek, about a mile below, has caused it to be abandoned. 

The village of Kingston (originally called Esopus) — situated 
upon a broad plain on the banks of the Esopus Creek, with a 
fine range of the southern Katzbergs in the rear — is one of the oldest 
settlements in the State of New York.-'' As early as 1614, Dutch traders 
built a redoubt at the mouth of Rondout (a corruption of Redoubt) Creek. 
A few families settled soon afterwards upon or near the site of Kingston, 
and called the place Wiltwyck, or Wild Indian Town. They were soon 
dispersed by the savages. Another settlement then followed ; again the 
savages dispersed them. Finally, in 1660, a treaty was concluded that 
seemed to promise security to the settlers. But the wrath of the Indians 
became fiercely kindled against the white people by Governor Stuyvesant, 
who sent eleven Indian captives to Curagoa, and sold them for slaves. 
In June, 1663, the Indians came into the open fort in great numbers, 
professedly to trade. At a concerted signal they fell upon the white 
people, murdered eighteen of them, and carried away forty-two as 
captives. The out settlements were all destroyed. A destructive war 
ensued. The Indians were expelled from the fort, and nine days after- 
wards a reinforcement came from New Amsterdam. The savages were 
pursued and almost exterminated. In the autumn they returned all the 
captives but three, and sued for peace. 



The Indians appropriately called this spot At-kan-karten, Smootli Land. 



182 



THE HUDSON. 



Many^of the persecuted Huguenot families who fled from France settled 
at Kingston and in its vicinity, towards the close of the seventeenth 
century; and when the war for independence broke out in 1775, their 
descendants were found on the side of the republicans. Kingston was 
called a "nest of rebels." There, in the spring of 1777, the representatives 
of the people of the State formed a state constitution, and organised civil 
government under it. The first session of the legislature was held there 
in July following, but the members were obliged to flee in the autumn, on 




the approach of A^aughan and his troops. These ascended the river from 
the Highlands, where Sir Henry Clinton had gained a victory, taken 
possession of Torts Clinton and Montgomery, and destroyed the obstructions 
in the river which prevented vessels passing northward. The object of 
Vaughan's expedition, as we have said, waste draw the attention of Gates 
and his ai-my (then casting their meshes around Burgoyne) to the country 
below, where devastation and ruin were threatened. After passing the 
Highlands, they distressed the people along the shores of the river very 
much by burnings and plunderings. They landed at the port of Esopus, 



THE HUDSON. 183 



or Kingston, on the 13th of October, and proceeded to the village in two 
divisions. The town contained about 300 inhabitants, and the houses were 
mostly of stone. The people fled with what property they could carry 
away, and the soldiery burned every house but one. 

It is related that when the British landed at Kingston Point, some 
Dutchmen were at work just below it, and were not aware of the fact 
until they saw the dreaded "red-coats" near them. It was low water, 
and across the flats on the river shore they fled toward the place of the 
present village of Rondout as fast as their legs could carry them, not 
presuming to look behind them, lest, like Lot's wife, they might be detained. 
The summer haymakers had left a rake on the marsh meadow, and upon 
this one of the fugitives trod. The handle flew up behind him, and gave 
him a severe blow on the back of his head. Not doubting that a 
''Britisher" was close upon his heels, he stopped short, and throwing up 
his hands imploringly, exclaimed, "0 mein Got! mein Got! I kivs up. 
Hoorah for King Shorge ! " The innocent rake was all the enemy that 
was near, and the fugitive's sudden conversion was known only to a 
companion in the race, who had outstripped him a few paces. 

Hurley, a few miles from Kingston, became the place of refuge for the 
sufi'erers from the conflagration of the latter town. There, while Esopus 
was in flames, the republicans hanged a spy, who had been caught in the 
American camp near Newburgh, a few days before. He had been sent by 
Sir Henry Clinton with a message to Burgoyne. "When apprehended on 
suspicion, he was seen to cast something into his mouth and swallow it. 
An emetic was administered, and a silver bullet, hollow and elliptical in 
shape, was produced. In it, written upon tissue paper, was the following 
note, dated Fort Montgomery, October 8, 1777 : — 

" JVotis ij void', and nothing now between us and Gates. I sincerely 
hope this little succour of ours may facilitate your operation. In answer 
to your letter of the 28th, by C. C, I shall only say I cannot presume to 
order, or even advise, for reasons obvious, I heartily wish you success. 
" Faithfully yours, " H. Clixtoi^." 

The prisoner was tried : out of his own mouth he was condemned. He 
was taken to Hurley, and there hanged upon an apple-tree. That silver 



184 



THE HUDSON. 



bullet and the note are preserved in the family of Governor George 
Clinton. 

Kingston village is a very pleasant one, and the country about it affords 
delightful drives. Its population in 1860 was about 4,000, and the space 
between it and Rondout, a mile and a half distant, was rapidly filling up 
with dwellings. The two villages were already connected by gas-pipes, 
and public conveyances ply between them continually. 

Eondout (Ptedoubt), at the mouth of Rondout Creek, is one of the 
busiest places on the river between Albany and IS'ew York. It was 
formerly called the Strand, then Kingston Landing, and finally Bolton, 




in honour of the then president of the Delaware and Hudson Canal 
Company. That canal, which penetrates the coal region of Pennsylvania, 
has its eastern terminus at Eddyville, two and a half miles up the 
Rondout Greek ; and the mouth of that stream is continually crowded 
with vessels engaged in carrying coals and other commodities. Immense 
piers have been erected in the middle of the stream for the reception and 
forwarding of coal. Here, and in the vicinity, are manufactories of 
cement, and also extensive quarries of flagstone — all of which, with the 



THE HUDSON. 185 



agricultural products of the adjacent country, giving freights to twenty 
steamboats and many sailing vessels. Lines of steamers run regularly 
from Eondout to Albany and New York, and intermediate places, and a 
steam ferry-boat connects the place with the Ehinebeck Station. 

The population of Rondout was about 6,000 in 1860. The greater 
proportion of the able-bodied men and boys were, in some way, connected 
with the coal business. Another village, the offspring of the same trade, 
and of very recent origin, stands just below the mouth of the Rondout 
Creek. It was built entirely by the Pennsylvania Coal Company. From 
that village, laid out in 1851, and containing a population of about 
1,400 souls, a large portion of the coal brought to the Hudson on the 
canal was shipped in barges for the north and west. It is called Port 
Ewen, in honour of John Ewen, then president of the company. 

Placentia is the name of the beautifully situated country seat of the 
late James Kirke Paulding, a mile above the village of Hyde Park, and 
seven north from Poughkeepsie. It stands upon a gentle eminence, over- 
looking a pleasant park of many acres, and commanding an extensive 
prospect of a fertile farming country on both sides of the river. Almost 
opposite Placentia is the model farm of Robert L. Pell, Esq., whose 
apples, gathered from thousands of trees, are familiar to those who make 
purchases in the American and English fruit markets. Placentia has no 
history of special interest. It is a simple, beautiful retreat, now conse- 
crated in memory as the residence of a venerable novelist and poet — the 
friend and associate of Washington Irving in his early literary career- 
They were associated in the conducting of an irregular periodical entitled 
" Salmagundi," the principal object of which was to satirise the follies 
and foibles of fashionable life. Contrary to their expectation, it obtained 
a wide circulation, and they found many imitators throughout the 
country. It was brought to an abrupt conclusion by the refusal of the 
publisher to allow them any compensation. Paulding and Irving were 
personal friends through a period of more than fifty years. Mr. Paulding 
lived in elegant retirement, at his country seat, for many years, enjoying 
his books, his pictures, and his friends. He passed away, at the 
beginning of 1860, at the age of more than fourscore years. 

Our last visit to Placentia waa at the close of a most delightful afternoon 



186 



THE HUDSON. 



in early June. A sweet repose rested upon land and water. The golden 
sun was delicately veiled in purple exhalations, and over all the scene 
silence deepened the solemnity of the thought that we were treading 
paths where a child of genius had daily walked, but who had lately 
turned aside to be laid to rest in the cool shadows of the tomb. 

The village of Hyde Park is upon a pleasant plain, high above the 
river, and half a mile from it. It received its name from Peter Faulconier, 
the private secretary of Sir Edward Hyde (afterwards Lord Cornbury), 







PLACENTIA. 



the governor of the province of New York at the beginning of the last 
century. Faulconier purchased a large tract of land at this place, and 
named it Hyde Park in honour of the governor. Here the aspect of the 
western shores of the river changes from gently sloping banks and 
cultivated fields to rocky and precipitous bluffs ; and this character they 
exhibit all the way to Hoboken, opposite New York, with few 
interruptions. 

At Hyde Park the river makes a sudden bend between rocky bluffs, 
and in a narrower channel. On account of this the Dutch settlers called 
the place Krom EUehoge, or Crooked Elbow. As is frequently the case 



THE HUDSON. 



18: 



along the Hudson, the present name is a compound of Dutch and English, 
and is called Crom Elbow. 

Six miles below Hyde Park is the large rural city of Poughkeepsic, 
containing about 17,000 inhabitants. The name is a modification of the 
Mohegan word, Apo-keep-sinclc,^' signifying " safe and pleasant harbour." 
Between two rocky bluffs was a sheltered bay (now filled with wharves), 




POUGHKEEPSIK, FROM LEWISBIEG. 



into the upper part of which leaped, in rapids and cascades, the Winnakee, 
called Pall Kill by the Dutch. The northerly bluff was called by the 



* The name of this cit}', as found in records aud on maps, exhibits a most curious specimen of ortho- 
graphic caprice, it being spelt in forty-two different ways, as follows :— Pakeepsie, Pacapsey, Pakepsey, 
Paughkepsie, Pecapesy, Pecapsy, Pecapshe, Pochkeepsinck, Poeghkeepsing, Poeghkeeksingk, Poegh- 
keepsink, Pochkeepsey, Pochkeepsen, Pochkeepsy, Pochkepsen, Pochkj'phsingh, Pockeepsy, Pockep- 
seick, Pockepseng, Pokepsing, Poglikeepsie, Poghkeepsinck, Poghkeepsing, Poglikepse, Poglikepsen, 
Poglikeepsink, Poglikeepson, Poghkeepse, Pukeepsigh, Pokeepsingh, Pokeepsink, Pokeepsy, Pokepsinek, 
Pokkepsen, Pouglikeepsey, Poukeepsie, Poukeepsy, Pikipsi, Picipsi, Pokepsie, Pokeepsie, Poughkeepsie. 



188 THE HUDSON. 



Dutch Slange Klippe, or Snake or Adder CliflF, because of the venomous 
serpents which were abundant there in the olden time. The southern 
bluff bears the name of Call Eock, it having been a place from which the 
settlers called to the captains of sloops or single-masted vessels, when 
passage in them was desired. "With this bay, or " safe harbour," is 
associated an Indian legend, of which the following is the substance : — 
Once some Delaware warriors came to this spot with Pequod captives. 
Among the latter was a young chief, who was offered life and honour if 
he would renounce his nation, receive the mark of the turtle upon his 
breast, and become a Delaware brave. He rejected the degrading 
proposition with disdain, and was bound to a tree for sacrifice, when a 
shriek from a thicket startled the executioners. A young girl leaped 
before them, and implored his life. She was a captive Pequod, with the 
turtle on her bosom, and the young chief was her affianced. The 
Delawares debated, when suddenly the war-whoop of some fierce Hurons 
made them snatch their arms for defence. The maiden severed the 
thongs that bound her lover, but in the deadly conflict that ensued, they 
were separated, and a Huron chief carried off the captive as a trophy. 
Her affianced conceived a bold design for her rescue, and proceeded 
immediately to execute it. In the character of a wizard he entered the 
Huron camp. The maiden was sick, and her captor employed the wizard 
to prolong her life, until he should satisfy his revenge upon Uncas, her 
uncle, the great chief of the Mohegans. They eluded the vigilance of 
the Huron, fled at nightfall, with swift feet, towards the Hudson, and in 
the darkness, shot out upon its bosom, in a light canoe, followed by 
blood-thirsty pursuers. The strong arm of the young Pequod paddled his 
beloved one safely to a deep rocky nook near the mouth of the "Winnakee, 
concealed her there, and with a few friendly Delawares whom he had 
secured by a shout, he fought, conquered, and drove off" the Huron 
warriors. The sheltered nook where the maiden lay was a safe harbour 
for her, and the brave Pequod and his friends joyfully confirmed its title 
to Apo-keep-siticlc. 

Poughkeepsie was settled by the Dutch at the close of the seventeenth 
century. The first substantial stone building was erected not far from 
the Winnakee, by Baltus Yan Kleek, in the year 1705, and remained a 



THE HUDSON. 189 



hundred and thirty years, when it made way for modern improvements. 
This house, like many others built so early, was pierced with loop- 
holes for musketry, near the roof, that beinp: a necessaiT precaution 
against attacks by the Indians. It was 
the scene of stirring events, being for 

many years a tavern, and the gathering ^^ ("^iiK^^,.^ ,. 

place of the people. "When the old 
court-house was burned at the outbreak 
of the revolution, it became the meeting 
place of the citizens for public purposes. 
There Ann Lee, the founder of the 
Shaker church in America, was con- 

THE \A> KLEEK HOtSr. 

fined, in 1776, on a charge of com- 
plicity with the enemies of republicanism. There the legislature of 
New York, when driven by the torch from Kingston, in 1777, met, and 
continued during two sessions ; and there many of the members of the 
State Convention in 1788, to consider the Federal Constitution, found a 
home during the session. The city is partly upon a hill-side, sloping to 
the river, but chiefly upon an elevated plain, back of which is College 
Hill, whose summit is five hundred feet above the town. It is crowned 
with an edifice modelled, externally, after the Temple of Minerva, at 
Athens, and devoted to the use of a popular institution of learning. The 
views from this summit are extensive, and very interesting, and embrace 
a region about twenty-five hundred square miles in extent of the most 
diversified scenery. The city, appearing like a town in a forest, lies at 
the foot of the spectator, and between the lofty Katzbergs on the north, 
and the Highlands on the south, the Hudson is seen at intervals, having 
the appearance of a chain of little lakes. Around, within an area of 
twenty to thirty miles in diameter, spreads out a farming country, like a 
charming picture, beautiful in every feature. 

The general appearance of Poughkeepsie from the hills above Lewis- 
burg, on the western side of the Hudson, is given in our sketch. It is 
one of the most delightful places for residence in the United States. It 
is centrally situated between New York the commercial, and Albany the 
political, capital of the State. Its streets are shaded with maple, elm. 



190 



THE HUDSON. 



and acacia ti'ees, and their cleanliness is proverbial. It is celebrated for 
its numerous seminaries of leai-ning for both sexes, the salubrity of its 
climate, the fertility of the surrounding country, and the wealth and 
general independence of its inhabitants. The eye and ear are rarely 
offended by public exhibitions of squalor or vice, while evidences of thrift 
jire seen on every hand. 

Prom a high rocky bluff on the river front of Poughkeepsie, named the 
Call Rock, exquisite views of the Hudson, north and south, may be 
obtained. The scene southward; which includes a distant view of the 




GliLAXLlS, FROJt POrrillKEKPSIE. 



Highlands, is the most attractive. At all times the river is filled with 
water-craft of almost every description. The most striking objects on its 
surface are fleets of barges from the northern and western canals, loaded 
with the products of the fields and forests, lashed or tethered together, 
and towed by a steamboat. On these barges whole families sometimes 
reside during the season of navigation ; and upon lines stretched over 
piles of lumber, newly- washed clothes may be frequently seen fluttering 
in the breeze. One of these fleets appears in our sketch. 

Two miles below Poughkeepsie is Locust Grove, the seat of Professor 



THE HUDSON. 191 



Samuel F. B. Morse, an eminent artist and philosopher, the founder of 
the American Academy of Design, but better known to the world as the 
author of the system of telegraphing by electro-magnetism, now used in 
almost every civilised country on the globe. For this wonderful contri- 
bution to science and addition to the world's inventions for moral and 
material advancement, he has been honoured by several royal testimonials, 
honorary and substantial, and by the universal gratitude and admiration 
of his countrymen. Locust Grove is his summer retreat, and from his 
study he has electrographic communication with all parts of the United 




LOCLSi GROVi. 



States and the British provinces. The mansion is so embowered that it 
is almost invisible to the traveller on the highway. But immediately 
around it are gardens, conservatories, and a pleasant lawn, basking in the 
sunshine, and through vistas between magnificent trees, glimpses may be 
caught of the Hudson, the northern and southern ranges of mountains, 
and villages that dot the western shore of the river. Here the master 
dispenses a generous hospitality to friends and strangers, and with the 
winning graces of a modest, unobtrusive nature, he delights all who enter 
the charmed circle of Locust Grove. For the man of taste and genius his 



192 



THE HUDSON. 



home is one of the most charming retreats to be found on the banks of 
the Hudson from the wilderness to the sea. 

About four miles below Poughkeepsie is an ancient stone farm-house 
and a mill, at the mouth of Spring Brook, at the eastern terminus of the 
Milton Ferry. Here, during the old war for independence, lived Theophilus 
Anthony, a blacksmith, farmer, miller, and staunch "Whig, who used his 
forge for most rebellious purposes. He assisted in making a great chain 
(of which I shall hereafter write), that was stretched across the Hudson 
in the Highlands at Fort Montgomery, to prevent the British ships of war 




JIILTOX FEEEY AKD HOESE-EOAT. 



ascending the river and carrying invading troops into" the heart of the 
country. For this offence, when the chain and accompanying boom were 
forced, and the vessels of Yaughan carried the firebrand to Esopus or 
Kingston, the rebel blacksmith's mill was laid in ashes, and he was 
confined in the loathsome Jersey prison-ship at New York, where he had 
ample time for reflection and penitence for three weary years. Alas ! the 
latter never came. He was a sinner against ministers, too hardened for 
repentance, and he remained a rebel until the close of his life. Another 
mill soon arose from the ashes of the old one, and there his grandsons, the 



THE HUDSON. 



193 



Messrs. Gill were grinding wheat when we were there for the descendants 
of both "Whigs and Tories, and never inquired into the politics of the 
passengers upon their boat at the Milton Ferry. That boat was keeping 
alive the memory of times before steam was used for navigation. It was 
one of only two vessels of the kind upon the Hudson in 1860, that were 
propelled by horse-power. The other was at Coxsakie. The Milton 
ferry-boat has since been withdrawn. 

Opposite Spring Brook is the village of Milton, remarkable, like its 




NEW nAMBURG TUNNEL. 



sister, Marlborough, a few miles below, for the picturesque beauty of the 
surrounding country and the abundance of Antwerp raspberries produced 
in its vicinity every year. There and at some places on the eastern shore, 
are the chief sources of the supply of that delicious fruit for the city of 
New York ; and the quantity raised is so great, that a small steamboat is 
employed for the sole purpose of carrying raspberries daily to the city. 
These villages are upon high banks, and are scarcely visible from the 
river. They have a background of rich farming lands, terminating 
c c 



194 



THE HUDSON. 



beyond a sweet valley by a range of lofty hills tbat are covered with the 
primeval forest. They are the resort of iCTew Yorkers during the heat of 
summer. 

Eight miles below Poughkeepsie is the little village of New Hamburg, 
situated at the foot of a rocky promontoiy thickly covered with the Arbor 
Vita), or white cedar, and near the mouth of the AYappingi's Creek. 
Through this bluff the Hudson Eiver Eailway passes in a tunnel 800 feet 
in length, and then crosses the mouth of the "Wappingi, npon a causeway 




THE AKliOR VIT.t. 



and drawbridge. All over this rocky bluff, including the roof of the 
tunnel, the Arbor Vitse shrubs stand thickly; and present, according to 
Loudon, the eminent English writer on horticulture and kindi-ed subjects, 
some of the finest specimens of that tree to be found in the world. Here 
they may be seen of all sizes and most perfect forms, from the tiny shrub 
to the tall tree that shows its stem for several feet from the ground. The 
most beautiful are those of six to ten feet in height, whose branches shoot 
out close to the ground, forming perfect cones, and exhibiting nothing to 
the eye but delicate sprays and bright green leaves. "When quite small 
these shrubs may be successfully transplanted ; but under cultivation they 



THE HUDSON. 



195 



sometimes lose their perfect form, and become irregular, like the common 
cedar tree. They are beginning to be extensively used for hedges, and 
the ornamentation of pleasure grounds. •■" 

A pleasant glimpse of Marlborough, through a broad ravine, may bo 
obtained from the rough eminence above the New Hamburg tunnel, and 
also from the lime-kilns at the foot of the bluff, on the edge of the river, 
where a ferry connects the two villages. But one of the most interesting 
views on the Hudson, in this vicinity, is from the gravelly promontory 




fr^-^ 




near the town, at the mouth of the Wappingi's Creek — a large stream that 
comes down from the hills in the north-eastern part of Duchess County, 
dispensing fertility and extensive water-power along its whole course. It 
is navigable for a mile and a half from its mouth, when it falls seventy- 
five feet, and furnishes power used by quite a large manufacturing village. 
It is usually incorrectly spelled "Wappingers. Its name is derived from 



* The Arbor A^itffi is the Ihuya Occidentalis of Linnffius. It is not the genuine white cedar, although 
it frequently bears that name. In New England it is often called Hackmatack. Its leaves lie in tlattened 
masses along the stems, and each is filled with a vesicle containing a thin aromatic tiu'pentine. It bears 
yellowish brown cones, about five lines in length. 



196 



THE HUDSON. 



the Wappingi tribe of Indians, who, with the Matteawans, inhabited this 
beautiful region on the Hudson, just north of the Highlands. It should 
be written Wappingi's Creek. 

From that gravelly height the Highlands, the village of Newburgh, and 
a large portion of the lower part of the " Long Reach" from Newburgh 
to Crom Elbow, are seen; with the flat rock in the river, at the head of 
Newburgh Bay and near its western shore, known as Den DuyveVs Bans 
Kamer, or the Devil's Dance Chamber. This rock has a level surface of 
about half an acre (now covered Avith boantifnl Arbor Vitte shrubs), and is 




MOUTH or WAPPINGI'S CREEK. 



separated from the main-laud by a marsh. On this rock the Indians 
performed their peculiar semi-religious rites, called pow-iooivs, before going 
upon hunting and fishing expeditions, or the war-path. They painted 
themselves grotesquely, built a large fire upon this rock, and danced 
around it with songs and yells, making strange contortions of face and 
limbs, under the direction of their conjurors or " medicine men." They 
would tumble, leap, run, and yell, when, as they said, the Devil, or Evil 
Spirit, would appear in the shape of a beast of prey, or a harmless animal; 
the former apparition betokened evil to their proposed undertaking, and 



THE HUDSON. 197 



the latter prophesied of good. For at least a century after the Europeans 
discovered the river, these hideous rites were performed upon this spot, 
and the Dutch skippers who navigated the Hudson, called the rock Den 
Duyvel's Dans Kamer. Here it was that Peter Stuyvesant's crew were 
"most horribly frightened by roystering devils," according to the veracious 
Knickerbocker. 

Sixteen miles below Poughkeepsie, on the same side of the Hudson, is 
the small village of Fishkill Landing, having for a background, in a view 
of it from the river, the lofty range of the Fishkill Mountains, which form 
a portion of the Highlands proper, through which the Hudson flows a few 
miles below. Here is the Fishkill and Newburgh railway-station, and a 
long wharf that stretches over the shallow bed of the river to the deep 
channel far in the direction of Newburgh. That large town lies upon the 
steep slope on the western shore, and presents a beautiful appearance to 
the traveller by railway or steamboat, especially when it is lighted up by 
the morning sun. Around that old town, the site of the oldest permanent 
settlement in Orange County, are clustered many associations of the war 
for independence ; for near there the Continental Army was encamped ; 
there it was disbanded ; and in a house yet standing, and well preserved, 
Washington had his head-quarters for a loug time, as we shall observe 
presently. 

The first European settlement at Newburgh was commenced in 1709, 
by some Palatines, who went up from New York for the purpose, seated 
themselves a little above Quassaic (sometimes called Chambers') Creek, 
where the Quassaic Indians resided, and laid the foundations of "New- 
borough." They obtained a patent from Queen Anne in 1719, but 
becoming dissatisfied, they went some to Pennsylvania, and some to the 
Mohawk' Valley. English, Irish, l\ew England, and Huguenot settlers 
supplied their places. New Windsor (two miles below), and other places, 
were settled, and a flourishing little commonwealth was commenced. 
New Windsor, upon the shores of a sheltered bay near the mouth of the 
Quassaic, was, for some time, the rival of Newburgh. They were 
included in the "Highland Precinct" until 1763, when they were 
divided into separate municipalities, and so remained until organised into 
towns in 1788. 



CHAPTER XI. 




j^: HE house at Newbxirgh, -svhich was occupied by 
c Washingtou, was built by Jonathan Hasbrouck, 
in 1750, and is known by the respective names of 
"Hasbrouck House" and "AVashington Head- 
quarters." It has been the property of the State for 
several years, and a sufficient annual appropriation 
from the State treasury is made, to keep it, with the 
grounds around, in good order. "Within it are 
collected many relics of the revolution, the Avar of 1812-15, and the war 
with Mexico. 

In connection with this house, as the head-quarters of the army, 
occurred one of the most interesting events in the life of "Washington, to 
which allusion has already been made. It was in the spring of 1783. 
Peace had been declared, a preliminary treaty had been signed by Great 
Britain and the United States, and the Continental Army was soon to be 
disbanded. The civil confederacy was weak. For a long time the 
Congress had been unable to pay the army, and officers and soldiers were 
likely to be sent home penniless, large pecuniary creditors of the country 
whose independence they had achieved. Secret consultations were held 
among a few of the officers. They had lost faith in the Congress, and 
began to doubt the feasibility of republican government, and some of 
them indirectly offered the power and title of King to "Washington. He 
spurned the proposition with indignation. Then an appeal to the officers 
of the army Avas Avritten, and secretly disseminated, in which grievances 
were set forth, and they were advised to take matters into their own 
hands, and, in effect, form a military despotism if the Congress should 
not speedily provide for their pay. Washington was informed of the 
movement. He resolved to control, without seeming to oppose it. He 
called a meeting of the officers, and the suspected ringleader of the move- 
ment was asked to preside. When all were assembled, Washington 



THE HUDSON. 



199 



stepped forward and read to them a powerful appeal to their patriotism. 
His first words, before unfolding the paper, touched every heart. " You 
see, gentlemen," he said, as he placed his spectacles before his eyes, 
"that I have grown not only grey, but hlind, in your service." His 
address, as usual, was short, pointed, convincing, and most persuasive. 
All eyes were filled with tears. The spirit of mutiny and revolt shrank 
abashed, and the assembly resolved unanimously, "That the officers of 
the American army view with abhorrence, and reject with disdain, the 
infamous propositions contained in a late anonymous address to the officers 




iriERS AT NEWBURGH. 



of the army." This scene did not occur at head-quarters, but in a large 
temporary building a few miles in the interior, near whei'e the army lay 
at that time. 

In the centre of the Hasbrouck House, or Head-quarters, is a large 
hall, having on one side au enormous fire-place, and containing seven 
doors, but only one window. Here Washington received his friends ; here 
large companies dined ; and here, from time to time, some of the most 
distinguished characters of the revolution, civil and military, were 
assembled. Colonel Nicholas Fish, of tlie Continental Army, used to 



200 



THE HUDSON. 



relate an interesting fact connected with, this room. He was in Paris a 
short time before the death of the Marquis de Lafayette, who had lodged 
many nights beneath the roof of the " Hasbrouck House." Colonel Fish 
was invited, with the American minister, on one occasion, to sup at the 
house of the distinguished Marbois, who was the French Secretary of 
Legation in the United States during the revolution. Lafq^yette was one 
of the guests. At the supper hour the company was shown into a room 
which contrasted quite oddly with the Parisian elegance of the other 
apaitments, where they had spent the evening. A low, boarded, painted 




INTEEIOK Oi' WASliINGTO>"'S HEAD-QVARTEES. 



ceiling, with large beam?, a single small, uncurtained window, with 
numerous small doors, as well as the general style of the whole, gave, at 
first, the idea of the kitchen, or largest room, of a Dutch or Belgian farm- 
house. On a long rough table was a repast, just as little in keeping with 
the refined cuisines of Paris, as the room was with its architecture. It 
consisted of a large dish of meat, uncouth-looking pastry, and wine in 
decanters and bottles, accompanied by glasses and silver mxigs, such as 
indicated other habits and tastes than those of modern Paris. ' ' Do you 
know where we now are ?" said Marbois to Lafayette and his American 



THE HUDSON. 



201 



companions. They paused in surprise for a few minutes. They had seen 
something like it before, but when ? and where ? " Ah ! the seven doors 
and one window," exdaimed Lafayette, "and the silver camp-goblets, 
such as the Marshals of France used in my youth ! "We are at "Washington's 
Head-quarters, on the Hudson, fifty years ago ! " 

Upon the lawn, a little eastward of the Head-quarters, is a tall flag- 
staff, and near it a chaste monument, iu the form of a mausoleum, made 
of brown sandstone, and erected early in the summer of 1860, over the 
grave of the latest survivor of "Washington's life-guard. The monument 




LIFE CrUABD MONUMENT 



was dedicated on the 1 8th of June, with appropriate services in connection 
with a large civic and military pai'ade. It is about six feet in height, 
and is surmounted by a large recumbent wreath. On the river-front are 
the words : — " The last of the Life Guards. TJzal Knapp, boen, 1759; 
DIED, 1856. Monmouth, Yalley Forge, Toektown." On the opposite 
side: — "Erected by the Newburgh Guards, Company F., 19th Regiment, 
IS". Y. S. M., June, 1860." It is surrounded by a chain supported by granite 
posts, and is flanked by two pieces of heavy cannon. The monument was 
designed by H. K. Brown, the sculptor. 

D D 



202 



THE HUDSON. 



Mr. Knapp, the recipient of these honours, was, for a long time, the 
only surviving member of the body-guard of Washington, which was 
organised at Boston in the spring of 1776, and continued throughout the 
war. They were selected from all the regiments of the Continental Army, 
and chosen for their peculiar fitness of person and moral character. Mr. 
Knapp was a sergeant of the Guard, and was presented by Washington 
with a badge of Military Merit — the American Legion of Honour. In the 
autumn of 1855, the writer was at a public dinner where the old guardsman 
was a guest. He was then almost ninety-six years of age. When he was 





NEWBUEGH BAY. 



about to leave the table, the company arose. The veteran addressed a few 
words to them, and concluded by inviting them all to his funeral ! Just 
four months afterwards he died, and many who were at the feast were at 
the burial. By permission of his family, the citizens of Newburgh, after 
his body had lain in state for three days, buried him at the foot of the 
flag-staff, near the old head-quarters of his chief, where he had watched 
and sported three-quarters of a centui'y before. It was over that grave 
the monument we have delineated was recently erected. 

The natural scenery around Newburgh has an aspect of mingled 



THE HUDSON. 



203 



grandeur and beauty, peculiar and unrivalled. Before the town is the 
lofty range of the Fishkill Mountains, on which signal fires were lighted 
during the revolution ; and the group of the Highlands, through which 
the Hudson flows. These are reflected in a broad and beautiful bay, at 
all times animated with a variety of water-craft and wild-fowl. Even in 
winter, when the frost has bridged the entire river, Newburgh Bay 
presents a lively scene almost every day, for ice-boats and skaters are 
there in great abundance. Its broad surface is broken by only a solitary 
rock island. One of the finest and most comprehensive views of Newburgh 




llfeHKILL LAMJiNLr AND >EnBlEt.H. 



Bay may be obtained from the hill, just below the Fishkill and Newburgh 
railway-station, looking south-west. This view is given in our sketch. 
It includes the lower part of jS"ewburgh, the mouth of the Quassaic Creek, 
the villages of New AVindsor, and Cornwall, the beautiful low peninsula 
called Denning's Point on the left, and the higher one of Plum Point, on 
the western shore, seen in the centre. Just beyond the latter is the 
mouth of the Moodna, a fine clear stream that comes down from the hill- 
country of Orange County. The view is bounded on the left by the lofty 



204 



THE HUDSON. 



hills extending westward from the Storm King, at whose base the Hudson 
enters the Highlands. 

At Newburgh is the eastern terminus of a branch of the New York and 
Erie Railway, which passes thi'ough some of the most picturesque scenery 
in the world, between the Hudson and Delaware rivers. In the vicinity 
of the village are charming drives, but no one is more attractive towards 
evening, than that along the river-bank, through New ^'indsor to 




IDLEWILD FEOM THE BEOOK. 



Idlewild, the residence of the well-known author, N. P. Willis, Esq. I 
travelled that road on a hot afternoon in August. The shadows were 
short ; a soft breeze came up the river from the open northern door of the 
Highlands, whose rugged forms were bathed in golden light. On the 
land not a leaf was stirred by a zephyr. I crossed the Moodua, in 
whose shallow waters the cattle were seeking cool retreats, and I was 
glad to take shelter from the hot sun in the shadows of the old trees on 



THE HUDSON. 



205 



the margin of the brook thcat rushes from the Glen at Idlewild. There all 
was cool, quiet, and delightful. The merry laugh of children came 
ringing like the tones of silver bells through the open grove. I sat down 




// '» 



IN THE GLEN AT IDLEWILD. 



upon the bank of the brook, to enjoy the sweet repose of the scene, when, 
looking up, the cottage of Idlewild, half concealed by evergreens, stood in 
full view on the brow of the glen, two hundred feet above me. The whole 



206 THE HUDSON. 



acclivity is coverecl with the primeval wood, which presents an apparently 
impenetrable barrier to approach from below. 

After sketching the attractive scene, I went leisurely up the deep, cool, 
dai'k glen, to its narrowest point, where the brook occupies the whole 
bottom of the gorge, and flows in picturesque rapids and cascades over 
and^ among rugged rocks and overhanging trees and shrubbery, with a 
rustic foot-bridge, the solitary testimony that man had ever penetrated 
that wild retreat. 

A winding pathway lead from the slender bridge in the glen up to the 
cottage of Idlewild, which is at the north-eastern angle of the Highland 
Terrace, on which the village of Cornwall stands. The views from it are 
exceedingly beautiful. From the southern poi'ch a lawn rises gently, 
beyond which nothing can be seen but the purple sides and summit of the 
Storm King, rising nearly 1,600 feet above the river. A little way from 
the cottage, a full view of ISTewburgh Bay and the river and country 
above may be obtained ; and on the left, the placid estuary into which the 
Moodna* flows, reflects all the glories of sunset. 

The Highland Terrace owes its name and fame to Mr. Willis, whose pen 
has been as potent as the wand of a magician in peopling that delightful 
spot with summer residents from New York. He has thoroughly 
" written it up." It is a fertile strip of land, quite elevated, lying at the 
foot of the north-western slopes of the mountains. The grape is culti- 
vated there with success ; and as its banks yield some of the finest brick- 
clay in the country, it has become a celebrated brick-making place. 
Cornwall Landing is at the base of the Terrace near the foot of the Storm 
King, and is reached from the plateau by a steep, winding road. During 
the summer months it exhibits gay scenes at the hours when the steam- 
boats arrive. Many of the temporary residents of that vicinity have their 
own carriages, and these, filled with pleasure-seeking people, expecting 



* This 'jyas called Mui-derer's Creek, because, in early times, a family of white people, who lived 
upon its banks, was murdered by the Indians. Mi-. Willis, with a laudable desire to get rid of a name 
so unpleasant, sought reasons for establishing the belief that it is a corruption of the sweet Indian word 
Moodna. He has been successful, and the stream is now generally called Moodna's Creek. Such is 
also the name of the post-office there, established by the government. It is to be hoped that the old 
name will be speedily forgotten. 



THE HUDSON. 



207 



to meet friends, or only hoping to see new faces, quite cover the wharf at 
times, especially at evening. 

From the Cornwall Landing an interesting view of the npper entrance 
to the Highlands, between the Storm King and Breakneck Hill, may be 
obtained. In our sketch, the former is seen on the right, the latter on 
the left. The river is here deep and narrow. The rocky shores, composed 
principally of granite and gneiss, embedding loose nodules and fixed veins 




t'PPER ENTBANCE TO THE IIIGHLANDP. 



of magnetic iron ore, rise from 1,000 to almost 1,600 feet above the river, 
and are scantily clothed with stunted trees. The range extends in a 
north-eastern and south-westein direction across the Hudson, in the 
counties of Duchess and Putnam, Orange and Rockland, and connects 
with the Alleghanies. Geologists say that it is unequivocally a primitive 
chain, and in the early ages of the world must have opposed a barrier to 
the passage of the waters, and caused a vast lake which covered the 



208 THE HUDSON. 



present Yalley of the Hudson, extending to, if not over. Lake Champlain, 
eastward to the Taghkanick Mountain, in Columbia County, and the 
Highlands along the western borders of Massachusetts, and westward to 
the Kayaderosseras Mountain, near Lake George, alluded to in our 
description of the Upper Hudson. Such, they say, nnist have been in 
former ages the "Ancient Lake of the Upper Valley of the Hudson," 
indicated by the levels and surveys of the present day, and by an 
examination of the geological structure and alluvial formations of this 
valley. The Indians called the range eastward of the Hudson, including 
the Fishkill Mountains, Ilatteawan, or the Country of Good Fur. They 
gave the same name to the stream that flows into the Hudson, on the 
south side of Denning's Point, which the Dutch called Vis Kill, or Fish 
Creek, and now known as the Fish Kill, 

Toward the evening of the same hot day in August (1860), when I 
rode from Newburgh to Idlewild and the Highland Terrace, I went in a 
skiff around to the shaded nooks of the western shore below the Storm 
King, and viewed the mountains in all their grandeur from their bases. 
The Storm King, seen from the middle of the river abreast its eastern 
centre, is almost semicircular in form, and gave to the minds of the 
utilitarian Dutch skippers who navigated the Hudson early, the idea of a 
huge lump of butter, and they named it Boter Berg, or Eutter Hill. It 
had borne that name until recently, when Mr. Willis successfully appealed 
to the good taste of the public by giving it the more appropriate and 
poetic title of Storm King. The appeal was met with a sensible response, 
and the directors of the Hudson River Eailway Company recognised its 
fitness by naming a station at Breakneck Hill (when will a better name 
for this be given?), opposite the Boter Berg, "Storm King Station." The 
features of the mountain have been somewhat changed. For many years 
past vast masses of stone have been quarried from its south-eastern face ; 
until now the scene from its foot has the appearance given in the sketch. 

Serrated Breakneck opposite has also been much quarried, and through 
its narrow base, upon the brink of the river, a tunnel for the railway has 
been pierced. Several years ago a powder blast, made by the quarriers 
high up on the southern declivity of the mountain, destroyed an object 
interesting to voyagers upon the river. From abreast the Storm King a 



THE HUDSON. 



209 



huge mass of rock was seen projected against the eastern sky in the 
perfect form of a human face, the branches of a tree forming an excellent 
representation of thick curly beard upon the chin. It was called the 





lt the rooT of the stobm king. 



Turk's Head. By many it was mistaken for "Anthony's Nose," the 
huge promontory so called at the southern entrance to the Highlands a 
few miles below. Its demolition caused many expressions of regret, for 



210 



THE HUDSON. 



it was regarded as a great curiosity, and an interesting feature in the 
Highland scenery on the river. 

Just below the Storm King, at the foot of a magnificent valley composed 
of wooded slopes that come down from the high hills two or three miles 
westward, is the cottage of Mr. Lamhertson, a resident of New York, 
wlio has chosen that isolated spot for a summer retreat. He has only one 
neighbour, who lives in another cottage beneath willow trees at the base 
of the Cro' Nest. This group of hills forms the southern boundary of 
their wild domain, and the Storm King the northern. In the slopes of 




the grand valley between these hills wild ravines are furrowed, and form 
channels for clear mountain streams, and every rood of that wilderness of 
several hundred acres is covered with timber. When in full foliage in 
summer it has the appearance, in every light, of green velvet. I have 
seen it in the morning and at evening, at meridian and in the light of 
the full moon, and on all occasions it had the same soft aspect in contrast 
with the rugged forms of Cro' Nest and the Storm King. That valley is 
always a delightful object to tlie eye, and should be sought for by the 
tourist. The last time I passed it was at sunset. I was on the swift 



THE HUDSON. 



21: 



steamer Thomas Poicell, and at that hour the deep green of the foreground 
was fading higher up into a mingled colour of olive and pink, and 
softening into delicate purple, while the rocky summit of the Storm King 
cast over the whole the reflected effulgence of a brilliant evening sunlight. 
In this isolated spot among the mountains, Joseph Eodman Drake, whilst 
rambling alone many years ago, wrote con amore his beautiful poem. 




"The Culprit Fay, 
dance : — 



in which he thus summoned the fairies to a 



' Ouphe and goblin ! imp and sprite ! 

Elf of eve and stan-y fay ! 
Ye that love the moon's soft light, 

Hither, hither, wend your way. 
Twine ye in a jocund ring ; 

Sing and trip it mereily ; 
Hand to hand, and wing to wing. 

Round the wild witch-hazel tree,' 



Whilst at the landing-place at Mr. Lambertson's, one of those black 



212 



THE HUDSON. 



electrical clouds, which frequently gather suddenly among the Highlands 
during the heats of July and August, came up from the west, obscured the 
sun, hovered upon the summit of the Storm King a few minutes, and then 
passed eastward, giving out only a few drops of rain where I stood, but 
casting down torrents in Newburgh Bay, accompanied by shafts of forked 
lightning and heavy peals of thunder. There was a perfect calm while 
the darkness brooded. Not a vessel was in sight, and no living thing 
was visible, except the white sea-gulls, which seem to be always on the 




wing in the van or in the wake of a tempest. The shower passed east- 
ward over the Matteawan Hills, when suddenly there appeared 

" That beautiful one, 
■\\niose arch is refraction, whose keystone the sun, 
In the hues of its grandeur, sublimely it stood 
O'er the river, the village, the field, and the wood," 

and cast a beautiful radiance over the great hills of the Shattemuc * 



* The Wappengi and Matteawan tribes called the Hudson Shattemuc, and the HiglUands below the 
Matteawan, or Fishklll Mountains, tlie Hills of the Shattemuc. 



THE HUDSON. 213 



among which I stood, gazing upon a sublime scene with wonder and 
delight. 

After the shower had passed by, I rowed to the middle of the river, in 
the direction of Cold Spring \illage, on the eastern shore, and obtained a 
fine view of the Highland entrance to Newburgh 13ay. The evening sun 
was pouring a flood of light upon the scene. On the left, in shadow, 
stood the Storm King, on the right was rugged Breakneck, with its 
neighbour, round Little Beacon Hill, and between was Pollopell's Island, 
a solitary rocky eminence, rising from the river, a mile north of them. 
Beyond these were seen the expanse of Newburgh Bay, the village, the 
cultivated country beyond, and the dim pale blue peaks of the Katzbergs, 
almost sixty miles distant. This view is always admired by travellers as 
one of the most agreeable in the whole village- from New York to Albany. 

On a cool, bright morning in August, I climbed to the bald summit of 
the Storm King, accompanied by a few friends. We procured a competent 
guide at Cornwall landing, and ascended the nearest and steepest part, 
where a path was to be found. It was a rough and difficult one, made 
originally by those who gathered hoop-poles upon the mountains. It 
was gullied in some places, and filled with stones in others, because it 
serves for the bed of a mountain torrent during showers and storms. 
Nearly half-way up to the first summit we found a spring of delicious 
water, where we rested. Occasionally we obtained glimpses of the 
country westward, where the horizon was bounded by the level summits 
of the Shawangunk Mountains. 

"We reached the first summit, after a fatiguing ascent of a mile and a 
half. It was not the highest, yet we had a very extensive prospect of 
the country around, except on the east, which was hidden by the higher 
points of the mountain. At last the greatest altitude was reached, after 
making our way another mile over rocky ledges, and through gorges filled 
with shrub-oaks, and other bushes. There a glorious picture filled us 
with exquisite pleasure. We felt amply I'ewarded for all our toil. The 
sky was cloudless, and the atmosphere perfectly clear. The scenery, in 
some features, was similar to, but in all others totally unlike, that of the 
Adirondack region. Looking northward, the river was seen in its 
slightly winding course to Crom Elbow, twenty-six miles distant, with 



214 



THE HUDSON. 



the intermediate villages along its banks. On each side of the river, and 
sloping back to high ranges of hills (the shores of the ancient lake already 
alluded to), was spread out one of the most fertile and wealthy regions on 
the continent. 

Our view included portions of seven counties in the State of ^cw York, 
and of three in Connecticut, "with numerous little inland villages. In 
the extreme north-west were the Katzbergs, and, in the north-east, the 





nORTheex view feom the storm king. 



Taghkanick range, with the hills of western Massachusetts and Con- 
necticut. Almost at our feet lay Cornwall, and a little beyond were New 
Windsor and Canterbury, and the whole country back of Newburgh, 
made memorable by events of the war for independence. Before us lay 
the old camp-grounds of the Continental Army, the spot where the 
patriotism of the officers was tried to the utmost in the spring of 1783, as 
already explained ; the quarters occupied by Washington at New "Windsor 



THE HUDSON. 215 



and Newburgh ; of Lafayette, at the Square ; of Greene and Knox, at 
Morton's; and of Steuben, at Verplanck's. There "was Plum Point and 
Pollopell's Island, between which a sort of chevaux-de-frise "was constructed 
in 1776. Pollopell's Island lay beneath us. The solitary house of a fisher- 
man upon it appeared like a "wren's cage in size, and the kingdom of his 
insane "wife, -who imagines herself to be the Queen of England, and her 
husband the Prince Consort, seemed not much larger than one of her 
spouse's drag-nets. If he is not a Prince Consort, he is the sole ruler of 
the little domain "which he inliabits, and he may say, as did Selkirk — 

" I am monarch of all I suivej-, 

My right there is none to dispute, 
From the centre all round to the sea, 
I am lord of the fowl and the brute." 

The passing trains upon the Hudson lliver Railway, and large 
steamers, and more than forty sail of vessels of all sizes, seen upon the 
river at the same time, appeared almost like toys for children. Yet small 
as they seemed, and diminutive as "we must have appeared from below, 
signals with white handkerchiefs, given by some of our party, brought 
responses in kind from the windows of the railway cars. 

The view southward from the summit of the Storm King is not so 
extensive as northward and w^estward, but includes an exceedingly 
interesting region. In the distance, on the south-east, beyond the range 
of wooded hills that bound the view from less elevated cmiaences of the 
Highlands, the fine cultivated hill country of Putnam County Avas seen. 
Anthony's Nose, Bear Mountain, and the Dunderberg, at their southern 
entrance, were too high to permit glimpses of Westchester and Rockland 
counties below. These may be seen from the Great Rcacon Hill of the 
Fishkill range, on the opposite side of the river. With a good telescope 
the city of New York may also be seen. But within the range of our 
unaided vision, lay fields of action, the events of which occupy large 
spaces in history. There was Philipsburg, where the Continental Army 
was encamped, and almost every soldier was inoculated with the kine-pox, 
to shield him from the ravages of the small-pox. The camp, for a while, 
became a vast lazar-house. There was Constitution Island, clustered with 
associations connected with the fall of Forts Clinton and Montgomerv, 



216 



THE HUDSON. 



and the Great Chain, which we shall presently consider ; and heyond, 
amono- the shadows of old trees at the foot of the Sugar-Loaf Mountain, 
was seen the house occupied as head-quarters by Arnold, from which he 
escaped to the Vulture sloop-of-war, when his treason was discovered. 
Only a small portion of "West Point could be seen, for the Cro' Nest group 
loomed up between; but over these, more westward, the landscape 
included the entire range of higher hills away toward Chester, the Clove, 




faOI JHIBN MLW ]KOM IHh &10RM MNG 



and the Eamapo Pass, with the solid-looking mass of the Shunnemunk 
beyond Canterbury. 

It was after meridian when we had finished our observations from the 
lofty head of the Storm King, and sat down to lunch in the broken 
shadows of a stunted pine-tree. We descended the mountain by the path 
that we went up, and at Cornwall took a skiff and rowed to West Point, 
making some sketches and observations by the way. When a little below 



THE HUDSON. 



217 



the Storm Kiug Valley, wc came to the high blufF known as Kidd's Plug 
Cliff, where the rocks rise almost perpendicularly several hundred feet 
from (U'hris near the water's edge, which is covered with shrubberv. 




High up on the smooth face of the rock, is a mass slightly projecting, 
estimated to be twelve feet in diameter, and by form and position 
suggesting, even to the dullest imagination, the idea of an enormous plug 

F V 



218 



THE HUDSON. 



stopping an orifice. The fancy of some one has given it the name of 
Captain Kidd's Plug, in deference to the common belief that that noted 
pirate buried immense sums of money and other treasures somewhere in 
the Highlands. Within a few years ignorant and credulous persons, 
misled by pretended seers in the clairvoyant condition, have dug in search 
of those treasures in several places near West Point ; and some, it is said, 
have been ignorant and credulous enough to believe that the almost 





mythical buccaneer had, by some supernatural power, mounted these rocks 
to the point where the projection is seen, discovered there an excavation, 
deposited vast treasures within it, and secured them by inserting the 
enormous stone plug seen from the waters below. It is plainly visible 
from vessels passing near the western shore. 

Kidd's Plug Cliff is a part of the group of hills which form Cro' Nest 
(the abbreviation of Crow's Is^est), a name given to a huge hollow among 



THE HUDSON. 219 



the summits of these hills. They are rocky heights, covered witli trees 
and shrubbery, and, by their grouping, seen from particiilar points of view, 
suggest the idea of an enormous crow's nest. By some the signal high 
summit above the Plug Cliff is called Cro' Nest ; and it is in allusion to 
that lofty hill that Morris, its "neighbour over the way," wrote — 

" Where Hudson's waves o'er silvery sancla 
"Winds through the hills afar, 
And Cro' Nest like a monarch stands, 
Crowned with a single star." 



'^^^^^ 



CHAPTER XII. 



,3^S we passed the foot of Cro' Nest, wo caught pleasant 
glimpses of West Point, where the government of 
the United States has a military school, and in a 
few moments the whole outline of the promontory 
and the grand ranges of hills around and beyond it, 
was in full view. We landed in a sheltered cove a 
little above Camp Town, the station of United 
States troops and other residents at the Point, and climbed a very steep 
hill to the Cemetery upon its broad and level summit, more than a 
hundred feet above the river. It is a shaded, quiet, beautiful retreat, 
consecrated to the repose of the dead, and having thoughtful visitors at 
all hours on pleasant days. 




' There, side by side, the dark green cedars cluster, 
Like sentries watching by that camp of deatli ; 
There, like an army's tents, -with snow-white lustre, 
The grave-stones gleam beneath. 

'Few are the graves, for here no populous city 
Feeds, with its mjTiad lives, the hungry Fate ; 
While hourly funerals, led by grief or pity. 
Crowd through the open gate. 

'Here sleep brave men, who, in the deadly quarrel, 
Fought for their country, and their life-blood poui-ed ; 

Above whose dust she carves the deathless laurel, 
Wreathing the victor's sword. 

"And here the young cadet, in manly beauty, 

Bonie from the tents which skirt those rocky banks, 
Called from life's daily drill and perilous duty 
To these unbroken ranks " 



The most conspicuous object in the Cemetery is the Cadet's Monument, 
situated at the eastern angle. It is a short column, of castle form, 
composed of light brown hewn stone, surmounted by military emblems 



THE HUDSON, 



221 



and a foliated memorial xirn, wrought from, the same material. It was 
erected in the autumn of 1818, to the memory of Yincent M. Lowe, of 
New York, by his brother cadets. He was accidentally killed by the 
discharge of a cannon, on the 1st of January, 1817. The names of several 
other officers and cadets are inscribed upon the monument, it having been 
adopted by the members of the institution as " sacred to the memory of 
the deceased " whose names are there recorded. 




MONUMENT. 



From the brow of the hill, near the Cadet's Monument, is a compre- 
hensive view of the picturesque village of Cold Spring, on the east side of 
the river, occupying a spacious alluvial slope, bounded by rugged heights 
on the north, and connected, behind a range of quite lofty mountains, with 
the fertile valleys of Duchess and Putnam Counties. We shall visit it 



222 



THE HUDSON. 



presently. Meanwhile let us turn our eyes southward, and from another 
point on the margin of the Cemetery, where a lovely shaded walk invites 
the strollers on warm afternoons, survey Camp Town at our feet, with 
"West Point and the adjacent hills. In this view we see the Old Landing- 
place, the road up to the plateau, the Laboratory building?, the Siege 
Battery, the Hotel, near the remains of old Fort Clinton, upon the highest 
ground on the plain, the blue dome of the Chapel, the turrets of the great 




{4 %f 




COLD bUilNt, IHOM iUL CfMETLKi. 



Mess Hall, on the extreme right, the Cove, crossed by the Hudson lliver 
Railway, and the range of hills on the eastern side of the river. 

Following this walk to the entrance gate, we traverse a delightful 
winding ix)ad along the river-bank, picturesque at every turn, to the 
parting of the ways. One of those leads to the Point, the other up Mount 
Independence, on whose summit repose the grey old ruins of Fort Putnam. 
"VYe had ascended that winding mountain road many times before, and 
listened to the echoes of the sweet bugle, or the deeper voices of the 
morning and evening gun at the Point. IS'ow we were invited by a 
shady path, and a desire for novelty, from the road between Forts "VVebb 
and Putnam, into the deep rocky gorge between Mount Independence and 



I 



THE HUDSON. 



223 



the more lofty Redoubt Hill, to the rear of the old fortress, where it wears 
the appearance of a ruined castle upon a mountain crag. The afternoon 
sun was falling full upon the mouldering ruin, and the chaotic mass of rocks 
beneath it; while the clear blue sky and white clouds presented the 
whole group, with accompanying evergreens, in the boldest relief. 
Making our way back, by another but more difficult path, along the foot 
of the steep acclivity, we soon stood upon the broken walls of Fort 
Putnam, 500 feet above the river, with a scene before us of unsurpassed 
interest and beauty, viewed in the soft light of the evening sun. At our 




1\L'5i POINl, FEOM IHE CEMETEEI. 



feet lay the promontory of >Ycst Point, with its Military Academy, the 
quarters of the officers and the cadets, and other buildings of the 
institution. To the left lay Constitution Island, from a point of which, 
where a ruined wall now stands, to the opposite shore of the main, a 
massive iron chain was laid upon floating timbers by the Americans, at 
the middle of the old war for independence. Beyond the island arose the 
smoke of the furnaces and forges, the spires, and the roofs of Cold Spring. 
Toward the left loomed up the lofty Mount Taurus, vulgarly called Bull 
Hill, at whose base, in the shadow of a towering wall of rock, and in the 



224 



THE HUDSON. 



midst of grand old trees, nestles Under Cliff, then the home of Morris, 
whose songs have delighted thousands in hoth hemispheres. On the 
extreme left arose old Cro' Nest ; and over its right shoulder lay the 
rugged range of Break Neck, dipping to the river sufBciently to reveal the 
beautiful country beyond, on the borders of Newburgh Bay. This is one 
of the most attractive points of view on the Hudson. 




K l^[ a Hi. ^\l 



Fort Putnam was erected by the Americans in 1778, for the purpose of 
defending Fort Clinton, on West Point below, and to more . thoroughly 
secure the river against the passage of hostile fleets. It was built under 
the direction of Colonel Rufus Putnam, and chiefly by the men of his 
Massachusett's regiment. It commanded the river above and below the 
Point, and was almost impregnable, owing to its position. In front, the 



THE HUDSON. 



225 



mountain is quite steep for many yards, and then slopes gently to the 
plain ; while on its western side, a perpendicular wall of rock, fifty feet 
in height, would have been presented to the enemy. Eedoubts were also 
built upon other eminences in the vicinity. These 'being chiefly earth 
works, have been almost obliterated by the action of storms ; and Fort 
Putnam was speedily disappearing under the hands of industrious 
neighbours, who were carrying off the stone for building purposes, when 





MEW TKOM 



the work of demolition was arrested by the Government. Its remains, 
consisting of only broken walls and two or three arched casemates, all 
overgrown with vines and shrubbery, are now carefully preserved. Even 
the cool spring that bubbles from the rocks in its centre, is kept clear of 
choking leaves ; and we may reasonably hope that the ruins of Fort 
Putnam will remain, an object of interest to the passing traveller, for more 
than a century to come. 

G G 



THE HUDSON. 



The winding road from the fort to the plain is quite steep much of the 
way, but is so well wrought that carriages may safely traverse it ; and the 
tourist is led by it to one of the loveliest of river and mountain views 
northward from the Point, in front of the residences of Mr. Weir, the 
eminent artist, and other professors employed in the Military Academy. 
Passing along the shaded walk in front of these mansions, on the margin 
of a high bank, a white marble obelisk is seen upon a grassy knoll on the 
left, shooting up from a cluster of dark evergreen trees. It was erected 
by Major-Gcncral Jacob Brown, of the United States ai'my, in memory of 




LOLONLL -WOODS, MOMMLNJ 



his youthful and v\-ell beloved companion-in-arms, Lieutenant-Colonel E. 
D. Wood, of the corps of Engineers, who fell while heading a charge, at 
the sortie of Fort Erie, in Ui^per Canada, on the 17th of September, 1814. 
He had been a pupil of the Military Academy at West Point. "He 
was," says one of the inscriptions, "exemplary as a Christian, and 
distinguished as a soldier." 

Passing a little farther on, a gravelled walk diverges riverward, and 
leads down to the Siege Battery of six guns, erected by the cadets while 
in the performance of their practical exercises in engineering. The 



THE HUDSON. 



227 



cannon were housed, and no gunners were near, yet the works appeared 
formidable. They were composed of gabions, covered with turf, soft and 
even as fine velvet. The battery commands one of the most pleasing views 
from the Point, comprising Constitution Island, Mount Taurus, and Break 
Neck on the right ; Cro' Nest and the Storm King on the left ; and ten 
miles of the river, with PoUopell's Island and the shores above Newburgh 
in the centre. A similar view is obtained from the piazza of Roe's Hotel, 
on the brow of the hill just above. 

A little westward of the Siege Battery are the buildings of the 





VIEW FROM THE SIEGE BATTERV. 



Laboratory of the institution, in which are deposited some interesting 
relics of the old war for independence. One of the most attractive groups 
among these relics was composed of several links of the great ii'on chain, 
already mentioned, that spanned the river, enclosing a large brass mortar, 
taken from the British at Stoney Point, by Wayne, and two smaller ones, 
that were among the spoils of victory at Saratoga. There were a dozen 
links of the chain, and two huge clevises. The links were made of iron 
bars, 2J inches square. Their average length was a little over 2 feet, 
and their weight about 140 pounds each. The chain was stretched across 



228 



THE HUDSON. 



the river at the narrowest place, just above Gee's Point (the extreme 
rocky end of West Point) and Constitution Island. It was laid across a 
boom of heavy logs, that floated near together. These were 1 6 feet long, 
and pointed at each end, so as to offer little resistance to the tidal currents. 
The chain was fastened to these logs by staples, and at each shore by huge 
blocks of wood and stone. This chain and boom seemed to afford an 
eflftcient barrier to the passage of vessels ; but their strength was never 
tested, as the keel of an enemy's ship never ploughed the Hudson after 




THE GREAT CHA». 



the fleet of Vaughan passed up and down in the autumn of 1777, and 
performed its destructive mission. 

The views from Roe's Hotel, on the extreme northern verge of the 
summit of the plain of West Point, are very pleasing in almost every 
direction. The one northward, similar to that from the Siege Battery, is 
the finest. Westward the eye takes in the Laboratory, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Wood's Monument, a part of the shaded walk along the northern 
margin of the plain, and Mount Independence, crowned with the ruins of 
Fort Putnam. Southward the view comprehends the entire Parade, and 
glimpses, through the trees, of the Academy, the Chapel, the Mess Hall, 



THE HUDSON. 



229 



and other buildings of the institution, with some of the officers' quarters 
and professors' residences on the extreme rights The earthworks of Fort 
Clinton have recently been restored, in their original form and general 
proportions, exactly upon their ancient site, and present, with the 
beautiful trees growing within their green banks, a very pleasant object 
from every point of view. The old fort was constructed in the spring 
of 1778, under the direction of the brave Polish soldier, Thaddeus 
Kosciuszko, who was then a colonel in the Continental Army, and chief 




WESTERN VI KW, FROM BOE'S HOTEL. 



of the Engineers' corps. ) The fort, when completed, was 600 yards 
around, within the walls. The embankments were 21 feet at the base, 
and 14 feet in height. Barracks and huts sufficient to accommodate six 
hundred persons were erected within the fort. It stood upon a cliff, on 
th^ margin of the plain, 180 feet above the river. 

\Kosciuszko was much beloved by the Eevolutionary Army, and his 
memory is held in reverence by the American people. He was only 
twenty years of age when he joined that army. He had been educated 
at the Military School of Warsaw. He had not completed his studies. 



230 



THE HUDSON. 



when he eloped with a beautiful girl of high rank. They were overtaken 
by the maiden's father, who made a violent attempt to seize his daughter. 
The young Polo was compelled either to slay the father or abandon 
the daughter. He chose the latter, and obtaining the permission of his 
sovereign, he went to France, and there became a student in drawing 
and military science. In Paris he was introduced to Dr. Franklin, and, 
fired with a desire to aid a people fighting for independence, he sailed for 
America, bearing letters from that minister. He applied to "Washington 




THE PARADE. 



for employment. "What do you seek here?" asked the leader of the 
armies of the revolted colonies. " I come to fight as a volunteer for 
American independence," the young Pole replied. "What can you do?" 
Washington asked. " Try me," was Kosciuszko's prompt reply. Pleased 
with the young man, Washington took him into his military family. 
The Congress soon afterwards appointed him engineer, with the rank of 
colonel. He returned to Poland at the close of the Eevolution, and was 
made a major-general under Poniatowski. He was at the head of the 
military movements of the Eevolution in Poland, in 1794, and was made 



THE HUDSON. 



231 



a prisoner, and carried to St. Petersburg. This event caused Campbell 
to write — 



' Hope for a season bade the earth farewell, 
And freedom sluieked when Kosciuszko fell.' 



After the Empress Catherine died, the Emperor Paul liberated him, 
offered him command in the Russian service, and presented him with his 





own sword. He declined it, saying, " T no longer need a sword, since I 
have no longer a country to defend." He revisited the United States in 
1797, when the Congress granted him land in consideration of his services. 
He afterwards lived in Switzerland, and there he died in 1817. A 
public funeral was made for him at Warsaw. Twelve years afterwards, 
the cadets of "West Point, actuated by love for the man and reverence for 



232 



THE HUDSON. 



his deeds, erected a beautiful marble monument to bis memory, within the 
ruins of Old Fort Clinton, at a cost of about $5,000. It bears upon one 
side the name of — " Kosciuszko," and on another, the simple inscription 
— "Eeected by the Coups of Cadets, 1828." It is a conspicuous and 
pleasing object to voyagers upon the river. ) 

Passing along the verge of the cliff, southward from Kosciuszko's 
monument, the visitor soon reaches another memorial stone. It is of 
white marble, the chief member being a fluted column, entwined by a 
laurel wreath, held in the beak of an eagle, perched upon its top. The 




pedestal is of temple form, square, with a row of encircling stars upon its 
entablature, and a cannon, like a supporting column, at each corner. It 
was erected to commemorate a battle fought between a detachment of 
United States troops, under Major Francis L. Dade, and a party of 
Seminole Indians, in the Everglades of Florida, on the 28th of December, 
1835. The detachment consisted of one hundred and eight men, all of 
whom, save three, were massacred by the savages on that occasion. The 
troops nobly defended themselves, and made no attempt to retreat. 
Their remains repose near St. Augustine, in Florida. This monument 



THE HUDSON. 



233 



was erected by the three regiments and the medical staff, from which the 
detachment was selected. 

A few feet from Dade's Command's Monument, a narrow path, through 
a rocky passage, overhung with boughs and shrubbery, leads down to a 
pleasant terrace in the steep bank of the river, which is called Kosciuszko's 
Garden. At the back of the terrace the rock rises perpendicularly, and 




KOSCIUSZKOS GARDEN. 



from its outer edge descends as perpendicularly to the river. This is said 
to have been Kosciuszko's favourite place of resort for reading and 
meditation, while he was at West Point. He found a living spring 
bubbling from the rocks, in the middle of the terrace, and there he 
constructed a pretty little fountain. Its ruins were discovered in 1802, 
and repaired. The water now rises into a marble basin. Seats have 

n n 



234 



THE HUDSON. 



been provided for visitors, ornamental shrubs have been planted, and the 
whole place wears an aspect of mingled romance and beauty. A deep 
circular indentation in the rock back of the fountain was made, tradition 
affirms, by a cannon-ball sent from a British ship, while the Polish 
soldier was occupying his accustomed loitering place, reading Vauban, 
and regaled by the perfume of roses. From this quiet, solitary retreat, a 
pathway, appropriately called Flirtation "Walk, leads up to the plain. 

A short distance from Kosciuszko's Garden, upon a higher terrace, is 
Battery Knox, constructed by the cadets. It commands a fine view of 




lEW FliO.M 13ATTKHV K^OX. 



I 



the eastern shore of the Hudson, in the Highlands, and down the river 
to Anthony's Nose. Near by are seen the Cavalry Stables and the 
Cavalry Exercise Hall, belonging to the Military School ; and below 
there is seen the modern West Point Landing. A little higher up, on 
the plain, are the groups of spacious edifices, used for the purposes of the 
institution. 

"West Point was indicated by "Washington, as early as 1783, as an 
eligible place for a military academy. In his message to the Congress in 



THE HUDSON. 235 



1793, he recommended the establishment of one at West Point. The 
subject rested until 1802, when Congress made provision by law for such | 
an institution there. Yery little progress was made in the matter ixntil 
the year 1812, when, by another act of Congress, a corps of engineers 
and professors were organised, and the school was endowed with the most 
attractive features of a literary institution, mingled with that of a 
military character. From that time until the present, the academy has 
been increasing in importance, as the nursery of army officers and skilful 
practical engineers. 

The buildings of the West Point Military Academy consisted, at the 
time wo are considering, of cadets' barracks, cadets' guard-house, 
academy, mess hall, hospital of cadets, chapel, observatory, and library, 
artillery laboratory, hospital for troops, equipments shed, engineer troops' 
barracks, post guard-house, dragoons' barracks, artillery barracks, cavalry 
exercise hall, cavalry stables, powder magazine, the quarters of the 
officers and professors of the Academy, workshops, commissary of cadets 
and sutlers' store, shops and cottages for the accommodation of non- 
commissioned officers and their families, laundresses of the cadets, &c. 
The principal edifices are built of granite. 

The post is under the general command of a superintendent, who bears 
the rank of brevet-colonel. The average number of cadets was about two 
hundred and fifty. Candidates for admission arc selected by the War 
Department at Washington city, and they are required to report 
themselves for examination to the superintendent of the academy between 
the first and twentieth day of June. None are admitted who are less 
than sixteen or more than twenty-one years of age, who are less than five 
feet in height, or who are deformed or otherwise unfit for military duty. 
Each cadet, on admission, is obliged to subscribe his name to an agreement 
to serve in the army of the United States four years, in addition to his 
four years of instruction, unless sooner discharged by competent 
authority. 

The course of instruction consists of infantry tactics and military 
policy, mathematics, the French language, natural philosophy, drawing, 
chemistry, mineralogy, artillery tactics, the science of gunnery and the 
duties of a military laboratory, engineering and the science of war. 



236 



THE HUDSON. 



geography, history and ethics, the use of the sword, and cavalry exercise 
and tactics. The rules and regulations of the academy are very strict and 
salutary, and the instruction in all departments is thorough and complete. 
The road from the plain to the landing at AVest Point was cut from the 
steep rocky bank of the river, at a heavy expense to the government. 
The wharf is spacious, and there a sentinel was continually posted, with 
a slate and pencil, to record the names of all persons who arrive and 
depart. This was for the use of the Superintendent, by which means he 




IHE BE\ERL\ IIOl SE 



is informed daily of the arrival of any persons to whom he might wish to 
extend personal or professional courtesies. 

A steam ferry-boat connects West Point with the Garrison Station of 
the Hudson Kiver Eailway, opposite. Near the latter is the old ferry- 
place of the Eevolution, where troops crossed to and from West Point. 
Here Washington crossed on the morning when General Arnold's treason 



THE HUDSON. 



237 



was discovered, and here he held a most anxious consultation with 
Colonel Hamilton when that event was suspected. 

We crossed the ferry to Garrison's, and from the road near the station 
obtained a pleasant view of West Point, glimpses of the principal 
buildings there, and the range of lofty hills beyond, which form the 
group of the Cro' Nest and the Storm King. Following a winding road 
up the east bank of the river from this point, we came to a mill, almost 
hidden among the trees at the head of a dark ravine, through which flows 
a clear mountain stream, called Kedron Brook, wherefore, I could not 
learn, for there is no resemblance to Jerusalem or the Yalley of Jeho- 
shaphat near. It is a portion of the beautiful estate of Ardenia, the 
property of Richard Arden, Esq. His son. Lieutenant Thomas Arden, a 
graduate of the West Point Military Academy, owns and occupies Beverly, 
near by, the former residence of Colonel Beverly Robinson (an eminent 
American loyalist during the war for independence), and the head-quarters 
of General Benedict Arnold at the time of his treason. It is situated 
upon a broad and fertile terrace, at the foot of Sugar-Loaf Mountain, one 
of the eastern ranges of the Highlands, which rises eight hundred feet 
above the plain. 




CHAPTEE XIII. 

[;3T was mid-autumn when we visited Beverly House, and the 
Sugar-Loaf Mouutaia, at the foot .of which it stands, 
exhibited those gorgeous hues which give such unequalled 
splendour to American forests at that season of the year. 
The beautiful hues of the foliage of the maple, hickory, 
chestnut, birch, sassafras, and several other kinds of 
deciduous trees in the Northern and Middle Stales, seen just 
before the falling of the leaf in autumn, are almost unknown 
in Europe. A picture by Cropsey, one of the most eminent 
of living American landscape painters, in which this pecu- 
liarity of foliage was represented, drew from one of the minor English 
poets the following sonnet : — 

CROPSEY'S "AUTUMN ON THE HUDSON." 

[Addressed to J. T. Field, of Boston.] 

Forgot are Summer and our English air ; 

Here is )'Our Autumn with her -wonch-ous dyes ; 

Silent and vast your forests round us rise : 

God, glorified in Nature, fronts us tliere. 

In His transcendent works as heavenly fair 

As when they first seemed good unto His eyes. 

See, what a brightness on the canvas lies ! 

Hues, seen not hero, flash on us everywhere ; 

Kadiance that Nature here from us conceals ; 

Glory with which she beautifies decay 

In your far world, this master's hand reveals. 

Wafting our blest sight from dimmed streets away,— 

With what rare power !— to where our awed soul kneels 

To Him who bade these splendours light the day. 

VV. C. Bensett. 

Erom the summit is a grand and extensive view of the surrounding 
scenery, which Dr. Dwight (afterwards President of Yale College) 
described, in 1778, as " majestic, solemn, wild, and melancholy." Dwight 
was then chaplain of a Connecticut regiment stationed at "West Point, 
and ascended the Sugar Loaf with the soldier-poet, Colonel Humphreys. 



THE HUDSON. 239 



Under the inspiration of feeling awakened by the grandeur of the sight, 
he conceived and partly composed his prophetic hymn, beginning with 
the words — 

"Columbia! dilumbia! to glory arise, 
The queen of the world and the child of the skies." 

QGenoral Arnold was at the mansion of Colonel Robinson (Beverly 
House) on the morning of the 24th of September, 1780, fully persuaded 
that his treasonable plans for surrendering West Point and its dependencies 
into the hands of Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander-in-chief, — 
then in possession of New York, — for the consideration of a brigadier's 
commission in the British army, and £10,000 in gold, were working 
prosperously^ This subject we shall consider more in detail hereafter. 
"We will only notice, in this connection, events that occurred at the Beverly 
Hoyse. 

Qilajor Andre, Arnold's immediate accomplice in treasonable designs, 
had, in a personal interview, arranged the details of the wicked bargain, 
and left for New York. Arnold believed he had arrived there in safety, 
with all requisite information for Sir Henry; and that before "Washington's 
return from Connecticut, whither he had gone to hold a conference with 
Rochambeau and other Prench officers, Clinton would have sailed up the 
Hudson and taken possession of the Highland fortresses. But Andre did 
not reach New York. He was captured on his way, by militia-men, as a 
suspicious-looking traveller. Evidences of his character as a spy were 
found upon his person, and he was detained. Washington returned 
sooner than Arnold expected him. To the surprise of the traitor, 
Hamilton and Lafayette reached the Beverly House early on the morning 
of the 24th, and announced that Washington had turned down to the 
West Point Perry, and would be with them soon. At breakfast Arnold 
received a letter from an officer below, saying, ^^ Major Andre, of the 
British Army, is a prisoner in my custody.''^ The traitor had reason to 
expect that evidences of his own guilt might arrive at any moment. He 
concealed his emotions. With perfect coolness he ordered a horse to be 
made ready, alleging that his presence was needed "over the river" 
immediately, He then left the table, went into the great passage, and 
hurried up the broad staircase to his wife's cliamber. In brief and hurried 



240 



THE HUDSON. 



words he told her that they must instantly part, perhaps for ever, for 
his life depended on his reaching the enemy's lines without detection. 
Horror-stricken, the poor young creature, but one year a mother, and not 
two a wife, swooned and sank senseless upon the floor. Arnold dare not 
call for assistance, but kissing, with lips blasted by words of guilt and 
treason, his boy, then sleeping in angel innocence and purity, he rushed 
from the room, mounted a horse, hastened to the river, flung himself into 
his barge, and directing the six oarsmen to row swiftly down the Hudson, 
escaped to the Vulture, a British sloop-of-war, lying far belowj 




THE STAIRCASE OF THE EOBINSOKS" HOUSE. 



["Washington arrived at the Beverly House soon after Arnold left it. As 
yel no suspicion of treason had entered his mind. After a hasty 
breakfast, he crossed to "West Point, expecting to find Arnold there. *' I 
have heard nothing from him for two days," said Colonel Lamb, the 
commanding officer. "Washington's suspicions were awakened. He soon 
re-crossed the river, where he was met by Hamilton with papers just 
received revealing Arnold's guilt. He called in Knox and Lafayette for 
counsel. " "Whom can we trust now ? " he inquired with calmness, while 



THE HUDSON. 



241 



deep sorrow evidently stirred his bosom. At the same time the condition 
of Mrs. Arnold, who was frantic with grief and apprehension, awakened 
his liveliest sympathies. "The general went up to see her," wrote 




THE INDIAN FALLS. 



Hamilton in describing the scene. " She upbraided him with being in a 
plot to murder her child, for she was quite beside herself. One moment 
she raved ; another she melted into tears. Sometimes she pressed her 



242 



THE HUDSON. 



iafant to her bosom, and lamented its fate, occasioned by the imprudence 
of its father, in a manner that would have moved insensibility itself" 
Washington believed her innocent of all previous knowledge of her hus- 
band's guilt, and did all in his power to soothe her. " She is as good and 
innocent as an angel, and as incapable of doing wrong," Arnold wi'ote to 
Washington, from the Vulture, imploring protection for his wife and 
child. Ample protection was afforded, and Mrs. Arnold and her infant 




\IF\\ feOLllI I ROM m nil' 



were conveyed in safety to her friends. She was the traitor's second wife, 
and the daughter of Mr. Shippen, a loyalist of Philadelphia ; and she was 
only eighteen years of age at the time of her marriage to Arnold, while 
he was military governor of that city, in 1778. The child above- 
mentioned was named James Robertson Arnold. He entered the British 
army, and rose to the rank of Colonel of Engineers. He was at one time 
the aide-de-camp of her Majesty, In 1841 he was transferred from the 



THE HUDSON. 



243 



Engineers' corps, and in 1846 waa a major-general and a Knight of the 
Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. J 

Mr. Arden kindly took us in his carriage from Beverly to Indian Brook, 
a clear mountain stream that makes its way in rapids and cascades, through 
a -wild ravine, from the hills to the river. It falls into the deep marshy 
bay between Garrison's and Cold Spring. "We stopped on the way to 




INDIAN lUiOOK. 



view the river and mountains below "West Point, from the residence of 
Eugene Dutihl, Esq. His mansion is upon a point of the plain, shaded 
by a grove of pines, overlooking a deep dark dell, with a sparkling brook 
in its bosom, on one side, and the river and grand mountain scenery on 
the other. The view southward from his piazza is one of the most 
interesting and beautiful (though not the most extensive) among the 



244 THE HUDSON. 



Highlands, comprehending the site of Forts Clinton and Montgomery — 
the theatre of stirring and most, important events in the war for 
independence. From thence we passed along the brow of the declivity 
next the river, to the mansion of Ardenia, from which one of the finest 
views of "West Point may be obtained ; and then rode to Indian Brook, 
passing, on the way, the ancient Philipsburg Church — in which the officers 
of the Continental Army had worshipped during the Revolution — and the 
grounds and mansions of wealthy residents in that vicinity. 

"We crossed Indian Brook on a rustic bridge, just below the Indian 
Falls, whose murmur fell upon the ear before we came in sight of the 
stream. These falls have formed subjects for painting and poetry, and 
are the delight of the neighbourhood in summer. In the small space 
allotted for each of our illustrations and accompanying descriptions, we 
can convey only faint ideas of the wild beauty of the scenes we are called 
upon to depict in this mountain region of the Hudson. "We were on the 
Indian Brook on a bright October day, when the foliage was in its 
greatest autumnal splendour, and the leaves were falling in gentle showers 
among the trees, the rocks, and in the sparkling water, appearing like 
fragments of rainbows cast, with lavish hand, into the lap of earth. At 
every turn of the brook, from its springs to its union with the Hudson, a 
pleasant subject for the painter's pencil is presented. Just below the 
bridge, where the highway crosses, is one of the most charming of these 
" bits." There, in the narrow ravine, over which the tree tops intertwine, 
huge rocks are piled, some of them covered with feathery fern, others 
with soft green mosses, and others as bare and angular as if just broken 
from some huge mass, and cast in there by Titan hands. In midsummer 
this stream is still more attractive, for there, as Street has sung of the 
Willewemoc, — 

" A fresh, clamp sweetness fills the scene, 

From dripping leaf and moistened earth. 
The odour of the winter gi-een 

Floats on tlie airs that now have birth ; 
Plashes and air-bells all about 
Proclaim the gambols of the trout, 
And calling bush and answering tree 
Echo with woodland melody." 

In the neighbourhood of this mountain stream are delightful summer 



THE HUDSON. 



245 



residences, fitted for occupation all the year I'ound. Among the most 
pleasing of these, in their relation to the surrounding scenery, are those 
of Dr. Moore, late President of Columbia College, and Mr. De Rham, a 
retired merchant. "We passed through their grounds on our way to Cold 
Spring village, and Avished for space, among our sketches of the Highland 
scenery, for pen and pencil pictures of charming spots upon these and the 
neighbouring estates. 

Our road to Cold Spring lay through the region occupied by portions of 




VIEW FROM EOSSITER S MA^SIO: 



the American army at different times during the old war for independence. 
There, in the spring of 1781, the troops and others stationed there were 
inoculated with the small-pox. "All the soldiers, with the women and 
children," wrote Dr. Thacher, an army surgeon, "who have not had the 
small-pox, are now under inoculation." "Of five hundred who were 
inoculated here," he wrote subsequently, " only four have died." This 
was about fifteen years before Jenner made successful experiments in 
vaccination. 

This portion of the Highlands is a charming region for the tourist on 



246 



THE HUDSON. 



the Hudson ; and the lover of nature, in her aspects of romantic beauty 
and quiet majesty, should never pass it by. 

The first glimpse of Cold Spring village from the road is from the 
northern slope of an eminence thickly sprinkled with boulders, which 
commands a perfect view of the whole amphitheatre of hills, and the river 
winding among them. "We turned into a rude gate on the left, and 
followed a newly-beaten track to the brow of this eminence, on the 
southern verge of which Eossiter, the eminent painter (a copy of whose 
picture of ' Washington at Mount Vernon ' was presented to the Prince of 
Wales at the National Capitol in 1860), is erecting an elegant villa. The 
house was nearly completed, but the grounds around were in a state of 
transition from the ruggedness of the wilderness to the mingled aspects of 
Art and Nature, formed by the direction of good taste. It is a delightful 
place for an artist to reside, commanding one of the most extensive and 
picturesque views to be found in all that Highland region. The river is 
seen broken into lakes, in appearance ; and on all sides rise in majesty 
the everlasting hills. Only at one point — a magnificent vista between 
Mount Taurus and the Storm King — can the world without be seen. 
Through it a glimpse may be had of the beautiful country around 
Newburgh. 

Below us we could hear the deep breathing of furnaces, and the sullen, 
monotonous pulsations of trip-hammers, busily at work at the "West Point 
Foundry, the most extensive and complete of the iron- works of the United 
States. Following a steep, stony ravine that forms the bed of a water- 
course during rain-storms, we descended to these works, which lie at the 
head of a marshy cove, and at the mouth of a deep gorge, through which 
flows a clear mountain stream called Foundry Creek. We crossed the 
marsh upon a causeway, and from a rocky point of Constitution Island 
obtained a good panoramic view of the establishment. Eeturning to the 
foundry, we followed a pleasant pathway near the bay, into a large grove 
spared from the original forest, in which are situated the dwellings of a 
former and the present proprietors of the works.^' One of these, the 



* The West Point Foundry was established in 1817, by au association organized f jr the chief purpose 
of manufacturing heavy iron orcbiance, under a contract with the government. Thiit yet foi-med a large 
portion of its business in 1860. The works then consisted of a moulding house ; i gun foundry ; tlu-ee 



THE HUDSON. 



247 



honourable Gouverncur Kemble, an intimate and life-long friend of Irving 
and Paulding, and a former proprietor, withdrew from active participation 
in the business of the establishment several years ago, and is now 
enjoying life there in elegant retirement, and dispensing a generous 
hospitality. He has a gallery of rare and excellent pictures, and a choice 
library; and is surrounded by evidences of refined taste and thorough 
cultivation. 

Leaving the residence of Mr. Kemble at twilight, we made our way 



,1 f^ ,"- ii^ 




through the grove, and the village of Cold Spring beyond, to <'TJndercliflf," 
the summer dwelling of America's best lyric poet, George P. Morris, who 



cupolas ami tlu'ee aii- f uniaces ; two boriug mills ; tlu'ee blacksmiths' shops ; a trip-hammer weighing 
eight tons for heavy wrought iron-work ; a turning shop ; a boiler shop ; and several other buildings used 
for various purposes. The quantity of iron then used varied with the nature and demand of work. Upwards 
of fifty tons of pig metal had been melted for a single casting. The annual consumption varied from 
5,000 to 10,000 tons, with about 1,000 tons of boiler-plate and wrought-iron. The number of hands then 
employed was about 500. Sometimes 700 men were at work there. The establishment is conducted by 
Bobert P. Parrott, Esq., formerly a captain of Ordnance in tlie United States Army, and the inventor of 
the celebrated " Pan-ott gun," so extensively used, as among the best of the heavy ordnance, during the 
late Civil War-. These, with appropriate projectiles, were manufactured in great numbers at the West 
Point Foundiy, during the war, from 1861 to 1865. 



248 



THE HUDSON. 



has since been numbered with, the dead. Broad Morris Avenue leads to 
a spacious iron gate, which opens into the grounds around "Undercliff." 
From this, through an avenue of stately trees, the house is approached. 
It is a substantial edifice of Doric simplicity in style, perfectly embowered 
when the trees are in full leaf, yet commanding, through vistas, some 
charming views of the river and the neighbouring mountains. Northward, 
and near it, rises Mount Taurus,, with its impending clift' that suggested 
the name of the poet's country seat. It is the old "Bull Hill" which, 
in Irving's exquisite story of " Dolph Heyliger," "bellowed back the 




storm " whose thunders had " crashed on the Donder Berg, and rolled up 
the long defile of the Highlands, each headland making a new echo." 

A late writer has justly said of " Undercliff " — " It is a lovely spot — 
beautiful in itself, beautiful in its surroundings, and inexpressibly 
beautiful in the home affections which hallow it, and the graceful and 
genial hospitality which, without pretence or ostentation, receives the 
guest, and with heart in the grasp of the hand, and truth in the sparkle 
of the eye, makes him feel that he is welcome." Over that household, a 



THE HUDSON. 249 



daughter, the " fair and gentle Ida," celebrated in the following beautiful 
poem, presided for several years : — 

" Where Hudson's wave o'er silvery sands 

AVinds through the hills afar. 
Old Cro' Nest like a monarch stands, 

Crowned with a single star ! 
And there, amid the billowy swells 

Of rock-ribbed, cloud-capped eaitli, 
My fan- and gentle Ida dwells, 

A nymph of mountain birth. 

•• The snow flake that the cliff receives, 

The diamond of the showers, 
Spring's tender blossoms, buds, and leaves, 

The sisterhood of flowers, 
Jlom's early beam, eve's balmy breeze, 

Her purity deflne ; 
Yet Ida's dearer far than these 

To this fond breast of mine. 

" My heart is on the hills. The shades 

Of night are on my brow : 
Ye pleasant haunts and quiet glades, 

My soul is with you now ! 
I bless the star-crowned Highlands, where 

My Ida's footsteps roam : 
Oh for a falcon's wing to bear 

Me onwai-d to my home ! " 



Between Cold Spring and West Point lies a huge rocky island, noAV 
connected to the main by a reedy marsh already referred to. It was 
called by the Dutch navigators Martelaer's Island, and the reach in the 
river between it and the Storm King, Martelaer's Rack, or Martyr's 
Reach. The word martyr was used in this connection to signify contending 
and struggling, as vessels coming up the river with a fair wind would 
frequently find themselves, immediately after passing the point of the 
island into this reach, struggling with the wind right ahead. 

The Americans fortified this island very early in the old war for inde- 
pendence. The chief military work was called Port Constitution, and 
the island has ever since been known as Constitution Island. It contains 
very little arable land, and is chiefly composed of rugged rocky heights, 
every one of which now bears the ruins of the old militaiy works. To its 
shore nearest approaching West Point the Great Chain, which we have 
already considered, was fastened ; and upon a high bluff near (delineated 

ic K 



250 



THE HUDSON. 



in the sketch) are yet seen the remains of a heavy battery — a part of Fort 
Constitution — phxced there to protect the river obstructions. 

At the time of my visit, Constitution Island belonged to Henry 
Warner, Esq., the father of the gifted and popular writers, Susan and 
Anna B. AVarner.^' They resided in a pleasant cottage, near the southern 
border of the island. Its kitchen was one of the barracks of Fort Consti- 
tution. It fronted upon a beautiful lawn that slopes to the river, and 
was sheltered by evergreen and deciduous trees, and beautified by flowers 




JUIXS OF BATTERY ON COXSTITUTIOX ISLAKD. 



and shrubbery. Although within the sound of every paddle upon the 
river, every beat of the drum or note of the bugle at West Point, every 
roll and its echo of trains upon the railway, "Wood Crag," as their 
secluded residence was called, was almost as retired from the bustling 



* " Miss Susan Warner," says Duyckiuck, in the " Cyclopsedia of American Literature," " made a 
sudden step into eminence as a writer, by the publication, in 1849, of ' The Wide, Wide World,' a novel 
in two volumes." Her second novel was " Queechy." She is also the author of a theological work 
entitled " The Law and the Testimony." Her sister is the author of " Dollars and Cents," a novel ; and 
several very pleasmg volumes for young people. " The Hillii,of the Shatemuc," a tale of the Higlilands, 
is the joiut production of these gifted sisters. 



THE HUDSON. 



251 



■world as if it was in the deep wilderness of the Upper Hudson. It is a 
charming home for a child of genius. 

On a pleasant morning in October, while the trees were yet in full leaf 
and brilliant with the autumnal tints, we went from our home to Garrison's 
station on the Hudson River Railway, and crossed to Cozzens's, a summer 
hotel in the Highlands, about a mile below "West Point. It was situated 
near the brow of a cliff on the western shore of the river, about 180 feet 
above tide water, and afforded a most delightful home, during the heat of 




summer, to numerous guests, varying in number from two hundred and 
fifty to five hundred. There, ever since the house was opened for guests 
in 1849, Lieutenant-Gcneral Scott, the General-in-Chief of the American 
army, had made his head- quarters during the four or five warmer months 
of the year. It was a place of fashionable resort from June until October, 
and at times was overflowing with guests, who filled the mansion and the 
several cottages attached to it. Among the latter was the studio of 
Leutze, the historical painter. Only a few days before our visit, it had 
been the scene of great festivity on the occasion of the reception of the 



252 



THE HUDSON. 



Prince of "Wales and his suite, wlio spent a day and a night there, and at 
West Point, enjoying the unrivalled mountain and river scenery that 
surround them. 

The pleasure-grounds around Cozzens's were extensive, and were 
becoming more beautiful every year. They had been redeemed from the 
wilderness state, by labour, within ten years. "We remember passing 
through that region before the hand of man was put forth for its redemp- 




tion, and seeing the huge bouldei's — the "wandering rocks" of the 
geologist — strewn over the surface of the earth like apples beneath 
fruitful trees after an autumn storm. The change that had been wrought 
was marvellous. Another was about to take place. A few weeks after 
the visit here mentioned, that fine building delineated in the picture was 
destroyed by fire. The writer was passing by, in the evening, on the 
railway on the eastern side of the river, with a copy of the London Art 



THE HUDSON. 



253 



Journal in which theso sketches were first published, containing this 
picture, while the building was in flames. Mr, Cozzens soon erected a 
more spacious one on the high rocky bluff overlooking Buttermilk Falls, 
a very short distance from the site of the other. 

Between Cozzeris's and the mountains is a small cruciform stone church, 
erected years before the hotel was contemplated, chiefly by the contribu- 
tion of Professor Robert W. "Weir, of "West Point, the eminent historical 
painter, and one of the best of men in all the relations of life. It is really 
a memorial church, built in commemoration of his two sainted children, 




CHIRCH OF THF HOL\ IN>OCEMS 



and called " The Church of the Holy Innocents." For this pious purpose 
he devoted a portion of the money which he received from the United 
States Government for his picture of ' The Embarkation of the Pilgrims,' 
now in the Rotunda of the National Capitol. Divine service, according 
to the modified ritual of the Church of England, is held there regularly, 
and the seats are free to all who choose to occupy them. We trust our 
friend, whose modest nature shrinks from notoriety, will pardon us for 
this revelation of his sacred deed. The world, which needs good 
teachings, is entitled to the benefit of his noble example. 



254 



THE HUDSON. 



All about the cliffs, on the river front of Cozzens's, are winding paths, 
some leading through romantic dells and ravines, or along and across a 
clear mountain stream that goes laughing in pretty cascades doivn the 




TirE EOAD TO COZZENS'S DOCK. 



steep shore to the river. The main road, partly cut like a sloping terrace 
in the rocks, is picturesque at every turn, but especially near the landing, 
■where pleasant glimpses of the river and its water craft may be seen. 



THE HUDSON. 



255 



Altogether Cozzens's and its surrouudings form one of the most attractive 
places on the Hudson to those who seek health and pleasure. 

At Cozzens's Dock we procured a waterman, who took us to several 
places of interest in the vicinity. The first was Buttermilk Palls, half a 
mile below, on the same side of the river. Here a small stream comes 
rushing down the rocks in cascades and foaming rapids, falling more than 
a hundred feet in the course of as many yards. The chief fall, where the 




BUTTEBMILK F 



stream plunges into the river, is over a sloping granite rock. It spreads 
out into a broad sheet of milk-white foam, which suggested its name to 
the Dutch skippers, and they called it Boter Melck Val — Buttermilk Fall. 
The stream affords water-power for flour-mills at the brink of the river. 
The fall is so great, that by a series of overshot water-wheels, arranged at 
different altitudes, a small quantity of water does marvellous execution. 



256 



THE HUDSON. 



Large vessels come alongside the elevator on the river front, and there 
discharge cargoes of wheat and take in cargoes of flour. 

Rude paths and bridges are so constructed that visitors may view the 
great fall and the cascades above from many points. The latter have a 
grand and wild aspect when the stream is brimful, after heavy rains and 
the melting of snows. 




IPPEB CiSCiDts, B11TI.RMILK I ILL 

On the rough plain above is the village of Buttermilk Fall, containing 
over three hundred inhabitants. The country around is exceedingly 
rough and picturesque, especially in the direction of Fort Montgomery, 
three or four miles below ;' while on the brow of the high river bank near, 
there are some pleasant summer residences. Among these was the 
dwelling of Mr. Bigelow, then the associate of Mr. Bryant, the poet, in 



I 



THE HUDSON-. 



25: 



the ownership and conduct of the New York Evening Post, but since 
appointed, first the Secretaiy of the American Legation at tlie French 
Court, in 1861, and afterward Minister Plenipotentiary at the same Court. 
Hei-e on the smooth faces of the rocks might be seen a desecration 
which deserves the severest reprobation. All through the Highlands, on 
the lino of the Hudson Eiver Railway, the same offence met the eye. 
We refer to the occupation of smooth rocks by great staring letters, 
announcing the fact that one shopkeeper in New York his " Old London 





Dock Gin" for sale, and that another sells " Paphian Lotion for beauti- 
fying the Hair." "VYe protest, in the name of every person of taste Avho 
travels upon the river and the road, against any disfiguring of the 
picturesque scenery of the Hudson Highlands, by making the out-cropping 
rocks of the grand old hills play the part of those itinerants who walk the 
streets of New York with enormous placards on their backs, advertising 
wares for sale ; and the Legislature of the State of New York, which, in 
I8G0, made such disfiguration a penal oifence, deserves high praise. 

We crossed the river from Buttermilk Fall to the " Beverly Dock," 

L L 



258 



THE HUDSON. 



which is interesting only as the place where Arnold, the traitor, entered 
his barge in which he escaped to the Vulture sloop-of-war, on the morning 
when he fled from tlie " Beverly House, " the cause of which we have 
already considered. Here he kept his barge moored, and here he embarked 
on that flight which severed him for ever from the sympathies of his 
countrymen — ay, of the world — for those who ''accepted the treason, 
despised the traitor." His six oarsmen on that occasion, unconscious of 
the nature of the general's errand in such hot haste down the river, had 
their muscles strengthened by a promised reward of two gallons of rum ; 
and the barge glided with the speed of the wind. They were awakened 
to a sense of their position only when they were detained on board the 
Vulture as prisoners, and saw their chief greeted as a friend by the enemies 
of their country. They were speedily set at liberty, in New York, by 
Sir Henry Clinton, who scorned Arnold for his meanness and ti'eachcry. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

rowed to Garrison's, where wo dismissed the 
y waterman, and took the cars for Peek's Kill, six 
miles below, a pleasant village lying at the river 
opening of a high and beautiful valley, and upon 
slopes that overlook a broad bay and extensive 
mountain ranges.^-' "We passed the night at the 
I'l*^/ house of a friend (Owen T. Coffin, Esq.), and from the lawn in 
'Jir^ front of his dwelling, which commands the finest view of the 
-p river and mountains in that vicinity, made the sketch of the 
^ Lower Entrance to the Highlands. On the left is seen the Bonder 
Berg, over and behind which Sir Henry Clinton's army marched to attack 
Forts Clinton and Montgomery. On the right is Anthony's Nose, with 
the site of Fort Independence between it and Peek's Kill ; and in the 
centre is Bear Mountain, at whose base is the beautiful Lake Sinnipink — 
the "Bloody Pond" in revolutionary times. This view includes a 
theatre of most important historical events. "VVe may only glance at 
them. 

Peek's Kill, named from the "Kill of Jan Peck," that flows into the 
Hudson just above the rocky promontory on the north-western side of the 
town, was an American depot of military stores, during the earlier years 
of the war for independence. These were destroyed and the post burnt 
by the British in the spring of 1777. There, during most of the war, 
was the head-quarters of important divisions of the revolutionary army, 
and there the British spy was hanged, concerning whom General Putnam 



* Peek's Kill Village was incorporafed in'lSlT. It is the most northerlj' place on the Hudson (being 
forty-one miles from New York), where business men in the metropolis reside. It is so sheltered by 
the Highlands, that it is an agreeable place of residence in tbo winter. It contains ten churches, 
excellent schools, and had a population of about 4,000 in 1860. 



260 



THE HUDSON. 



wrote his famous laconic letter to Sir Henry Clinton. The latter claimed 
the offender as a British officer, when Putnam wrote in reply : — 



" Head-quarters, Ith August, 1777. 

" SiE, — Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was taken 
as a spy, lurking within our lines. He has heen tried as a spy, condemned 
as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy ; and the flag is ordered to depart 
immediately. 



IsKAEL Putnam. 



P.R. — He has been accordingly executed." 




LOWER ENTRANCE TO THE HIGHLANDS, FROM PEEK'S KILL. 



At Peek's Kill we procured a waterman, wliose father, then eighty-five 
years of age, conveyed the writer across the King's Ferry, four or five 
miles below, twelve years before. The morning was cool, and a stiff 
breeze was blowing from the north. "We crossed the bay, and entered 
Eort Montgomery Creek (anciently Poplopen's Kill) between the two 
rocky promontories on which stood Forts Clinton and Montgomery, within 
rifle-shot of each other. Che banks of the creek are high and precipitous. 



^e 



THE HUDSON. 



261 



the southern one covered with trees ; and less than half a mile from its 
broad and deep mouth, in which large vessels may anchor, it is a wild 
mountain stream, rushing into the placid tide-water through narrow 
valleys and dark ravines. Here, at the foot of a wild cascade, we moored 




■^^^S-asfg-j 



PALLS IN FORT MOM&OMhRi CBtLK 



our little boat, and sketched the scene. A short dam has been constructed 
there for sending water through a flume to a mill a few rods below. 
This stream, like Indian Brook, presents a thousand charming pictures, 
where nature woos her lovers in the pleasant sumnjer-time. 



262 



THE HUDSON. 



From the mill may be obtained a view of the promontories on each side 
of the creek, and of the lofty Anthony's Nose on the eastern side of the 
river, which appears in our sketch, dark and imposing, as we look toward 
the east. Fort Montgomery was on the northern side of the creek, and 
Fort Clinton on the southern side. They were constructed at the 
beginning of the war for independence, and became the theatre of a 
desperate and bloody contest in the autumn of 1777. They were strong 
fortresses, though feebly manned. From Fort Montgomery to Anthony's 
Nose a heavv boom and massive iron chain were stretched over the river, 




to obstruct British ships that might attempt a passage toward West Point. 
The two forts were respectively commanded by two brothers, Generals 
George and James Clinton, the former at that time governor of the 
newly organised State of New York. 

Burgoyne, then surrounded by the Americans at Saratoga, was, as Ave 
have observed in a former chapter, in daily expectation of a diversion in 
his favour, on the Lower Hudson, by Sir Henry Clinton — in command of 
the British troops at New York. Early in October, the latter fitted out 



THE HUDSON. 



263 



an expedition for the Highlands, and accompanied it in person. He 
deceived General Putnam, then in command at Peek's Kill, by feints on 
that side of the river, at the same time he sent detachments over the 
Bonder Berg, under cover of a fog. They were piloted by a resident 
Tory or loyalist, and in the afternoon of the 6th of October, and in two 
divisions, fell upon the forts. The commanders of the forts had no 
suspicions of the proximity of the enemy until their picket guards were 




LAKE SINNIPII<K. 



assailed. These, and a detachment sent out in that direction, had a 
severe skirmish with the invaders on the borders of Lake Sinnipink, a 
beautiful sheet of water lying at the foot of the lofty Bear Mountain, on 
the same general level as the foundations of the fort. Many of the dead 
were cast into that lake, near its outlet, and their blood so incarnadined 
its waters, that it has ever since been vulgarly called "Bloody Pond." 
The garrisons at the two forts, meanwhile, prepared to resist the attack 



264 THE HUDSON. 



Avith desperation. They were completely invested at four o'clock in the 
afternoon, when a general contest commenced, in which British vessels in 
the river participated. It continued until twilight. The Americans 
then gave way, and a general flight ensued. The two commanders were 
among those who escaped to the mountains. The Americans lost in 
killed, wounded, and prisoners, about three hundred. The British loss 
was about one hundred and forty. 

The contest ended with a sublime spectacle. Above the boom and 
chain the Americans had two frigates, two galleys, and an armed sloop. 
On the fall of the forts, the crews of these vessels spread their sails, and, 
slipping their cables, attempted to escape up the river. But the wind 
was adverse, and they were compelled to abandon them. They set them 
on fire when they left, to prevent their falling into the hands of an 
enemy. " The flames suddenly broke forth," wrote Stedman, a British 
officer and author, " and, as every sail was set, the vessels soon became 
magnificent pyramids of fire. The reflection on the steep face of the 
opposite mountain (Anthony's Nose), and the long train of ruddy light 
which shone upon the water for a prodigious distance, had a wonderful 
efl'ect ; while the car was awfully filled with the continued echoes from 
the rocky shores, as the flames gradually reached the loaded cannons. 
The whole was sublimely terminated by the explosions, which left all 
again in darkness." 

Early on the following morning, the obstructions in the river, which 
had cost the Americans a quarter of a million of dollars, continental 
money, were destroyed by the British fleet. Fort Constitution, opposite 
West Point, was abandoned. A free passage of the Hudson being opened, 
Vaughan and Wallace sailed up the river on their destructive errand to 
Kingston and Clermont, already mentioned. 

A short distance below Montgomery Creek, at the mouth of Lake 
Sinnipink Brook, is one of the depots of the Knickerbocker Ice Company, 
of New York. The spacious storehouses for the ice are on the rocky 
bank, thirty or forty feet above the river. The ice, cut in blocks from 
the lake above in winter, is sent down upon wooden " ways," that wind 
through the foi'cst with a gentle incliuation, from the outlet of Sinnipink, 
for nearly half a mile. A portion of the " ways," from the storehouses 



THE HUDSON. 



265 



to the forwarding depot below, is seen in our sketch. From that depot 
the ice is conveyed into vessels in warm -weather, and carried to market. 
More than thirty thousand tons of ice are annually shipped from this 
single depot. Ice is an important article of the commerce of the Hudson, 
from whose surface, also, immense quantities are gathered every winter. 

From the high bank above the ice depot, a very fine view of Anthony's 
Nose and the Sugar Loaf in the distance may be obtained. The latter name 
the reader will remember as that of the lofty eminence in the rear of the 





ANTHO^V'S NOSE AND THE SUGAR LOAF, FROM THE ICE DEPoT. 



Beverly House. At West Point and its vicinity it forms a long rauge of 
mountains, but looking up from the neighbourhood of the Nose, it is a 
perfect pyramid in form. It is one of the first objects that attract the 
eye of the voyager, when turning the point of the Nose on entering the 
Highlands from below. Its form suggested to the practical minds of the 
Dutch a Sui/cJcer JBroocU — Sugar Loaf — and so they named it. 



266 



THE HUDSON. 



We crossed the river from Lake Sinnipink to Anthony's Nose, through 
the point of which the Hudson Eiver Railway passes, in a tunnel over 
two hundred feet in length. This is a lofty rocky promontory, whose 
summit is almost thirteen hundred feet above the river, and with the 
jutting point of the Donder Berg, a mile and a half below, gives the 
Hudson there a double curve, and the appearance of an arm of the sea, 
terminating at tlie mountains. Such was the opinion of Hendrick 
Hudson, as he approached this point from below. The true origin of the 




L>KEL AT ANTH0:JV'S KOSE. 



name of this promontory is unknown. Irving makes the veracious 
historian, Diedrich Knickerbocker, throw light upon the subject : — 

"And now I am going to tell a fact, which I doubt much my readers 
will hesitate to believe, but if they do they are welcome not to believe a 
word in this whole history — for nothing which it contains is more true. 
It must be known then that the nose of Anthony the trumpeter was of a 
very lusty size, strutting boldly from his countenance like a mountain of 
Golconda, being sumptuously bedecked with rubies and other precious 



THE HUDSON. 267 



stones — the true regalia of a king of good fellows, which jolly Bacchus 
grants to all who bouse it heartily at the flagon. Now thus it happened, 
that bright and early in the morning, the good Anthony, having washed 
his burly visage, was leaning over the quarter railing of the galley, 
contemplating it in the glassy wave below. Just at this moment the 
illustrious sun, breaking in all his splendour from behind a high bluff of 
the Highlands, did dart one of his most potent beams full upon the 
refulgent nose of the sounder of brass — the reflection of which, shot 
straightway down hissing hot into the water, and killed a mighty 
sturgeon that was sporting beside the vessel. This huge monster, being 
with infinite labour hoisted on board, furnished a luxurious repast to all 
the crew, being accounted of excellent flavour excepting about the wound, 
where it smacked a little of brimstone — and this, on my veracity, was the 
first time that ever sturgeon was eaten in these parts by Christian 
people. When this astonishing miracle became known to Peter Stuy- 
vesant, and that he tasted of the unknown fish, he, as may well be 
supposed, marvelled exceedingly; and as a monument thereof, he gave 
the name of Anthony's Nose to a stout promontory in the neighbourhood, 
and it has continued to be called Anthony's Nose ever since that time." 

Down the steep rocky valley between Anthony's Nose and a summit 
almost as lofty half a mile below, one of the wildest streams of this 
region flows in gentle cascades in dry weather, but as a rushing torrent 
during rain-storms or the time of the melting of the snows in spring. 
The Dutch called it Broclcen Kill, or Broken Creek, it being seen in 
"bits" as it finds its way among the rocks and shrubbery to the river. 
The name is now corrupted to Brockey Kill. It is extremely picturesque 
from every point of view, especially when seen glittering in the evening 
sun. It comes from a wild wet region among the hills, where the 
Eattlesnake,*>' the most venomous serpent of the American continent, 



* Tlie Crotalus durissus, on common northern Rattlesnake of the United States, is of a yellowisli or 
reddish brown, sometimes of a chestnut black, with irregular rhomboidal black blotches ; head large, 
flattened, and triangular ; length from three to seven or eiglit feet. On the tail is a rattle, consisting of 
several horny enlargements, loosely attached to each other, making a loud rattling sound when shaken 
and rubbed against each other. These are used by the serpent to give warning of its presence. Wlien 
disturbed, it throws itself into a coil, vibrates its rattles, and then springing, sometimes four or five feet, 
fixes its deadly fangs in its victim. It feeds on birds, rabbits, squirrels, &c. 



268 



THE HUDSON. 



abounds. They are found in all parts of the Highlands, but in far less 
abundance than formerly. Indeed they are now so seldom seen, that the 
tourist need have no dread of them. 




THE BKOCKEN KILL 



A little below the Brocken Kill, at Flat Point, is one of those tunnels 
and deep rock cuttings so frequently passed along the entire line of the 
Hudson Iliver llaihvay ; and in the river opposite is a picturesque island 



THE HUDSON. 



269 



called lona, containing about 300 acres of land, including a marsh meadow 
of 200 acres. Only about forty acres of the island proper, besides, is 
capable of tillage. It lies within the triangle formed by the Bonder 
Ecrg, Anthony's Nose, and Bear Mountain. There we spent an hour 
pleasantly and profitably with the proprietor, C. W. Grant, M.D., who 
resided there, and was extensively engaged in the propagation of grape- 
vines and choice fruit-trees. He had a vineyard of twenty acres, from 
2,000 to 3,000 bearing pear-trees, and small fruit of every kind. He had 




EVTTLESNAK 



eleven propagation houses, and produced more grape and other fruit-plants 
than all other establishments in the United States combined. 

lona is upon the dividing line of temperature. The sea breeze stops 
here, and its effects are visible upon vegetation. The season is two weeks 
earlier than at Newburgh, only fourteen miles northward, above the 
Highlands. It is at the lower entrance to this mountain range. The 
width of the river between it and Anthony's Nose is only three-eighths of 
a mile — less than at any other point below Albany. The water is deep, 
and the tidal currents are so swift, that this part of the river is called 
" The Eace." 



270 



THE HUDSON. 



Southward from lona, on the western shore of the river, rises the 
rocky Bonder Berg, or Thunder Mountain, where, in summer, the tempest 
is often seen brooding. "The captains of the river craft," says Irving, 
in his legend of '' The Storm- Ship," " talk of a little bulbous-bottomed 
Dutch goblin, in trunk hose and sugar-loafed hat, with a speaking-trumpet 
in his hand, which, they say, keeps the Bonder Berg. They declare that 
they have heard him, in stormy weather, in the midst of the turmoil. 




TUNNEL AT FLAT POINT. 



giving orders in Low Dutch, for the piping up of a fresh gust of wind, or 
the rattling off of another thunder-clap. That sometimes he has been seen 
surrounded by a crew of little imps, in broad breeches and short doublets, 
tumbling head over heels in tlie rack and mist, and playing a thousand 
gambols in the air, or buzzing like a swarm of flies about Anthony's Nose; 
and that, at such times, tlic hurry-scurry of the storm was always greatest. 
One time a sloop, in passing by the Donder Berg, was overtaken by a 



THE HUDSON. 



271 



thunder-gust, that came scouring round the mountain, and seemed to 
burst just over the vessel. Though tight and well ballasted, she laboured 
dreadfully, and the water came over the gunwale. All the crew were 
amazed, when it w^as discovered that there was a little white sugar-loaf 
hat on the mast-head, known at once to be the hat of the Hcer of the 
Donder Berg. Nobody, however, dared to climb to the mast-head, and 
get rid of this terrible hat. The sloop continued labouring and rocking. 




lONA, lEOM THE BAILWAY. 



as if she would have rolled her mast overboard, and seemed in continual 
danger, either of upsetting, or of running on shore. In this way she 
drove quite through the Highlands, until she had passed Pollopel's Island, 
where, it is said, the jurisdiction of the Donder Eerg potentate ceases. 
No sooner had she passed this bourne, than the little hat sprung up into 
the air like a top, whirled up all the clouds into a vortex, and hurried 
them back to the summit of the Donder Berg, while the sloop righted 



272 THE HUDSON. 



herself, and sailed on as quietly as if in a mill-pond. Nothing saved her 
from utter wreck but the fortunate circumstance of having a horse-shoe 
nailed against the mast — a wise precaution against evil spirits, since 
adopted by all the Dutch captains that navigate this haunted river. 

"There is another story told of this foul- weather urchin, by Skipper 
Daniel Ouslesticker, of Fish Kill, who was never known to tell a lie. 
He declared that, in a severe squall, he saw him seated astride of his 
bowsprit, riding the sloop ashore, full butt against Anthony's Nose, and 
that he was exorcised by Dominic Van Geison, of Esopus, who happened 
to be on board, and who sang the hymn of St. Nicholas, whereupon the 
goblin threw himself up in the air like a ball, and went off in a whirlwind, 
carrying away with him the nightcap of the Dominic's wife, which was 
discovered the next Sunday morning hanging on the weather-cock of 
Esopus church steeple, at least forty miles off. Several events of this 
kind having taken place, the regular skippers of the river for a long time 
did not venture to pass the Donder Berg without lowering their peaks, 
out of homage to the Heer of the Mountains ; and it was observed that 
all such as paid this tribute of respect were suffered to pass unmolested." 

We have observed that the tempest is often seen brooding upon the 
Donder Berg in summer. "We give a sketch of one of those scenes, drawn 
by the writer several years ago, when the steam-engine of an immense 
pumping apparatus was in operation at Donder Berg Point. Concerning 
that engine and its co-workers, there is a curious tale of mingled fraud, 
superstition, credulity, and "gullibility," that vies with many a plot 
born in the romancer's brain. It cannot be told here. The simple out- 
lines are, that some years ago an iron cannon was, by accident, brought 
up from the river depths at this point. Some speculator, as the story 
goes, at once conceived a scheme of fraud, for the success of which he 
relied on the average ignorance and credulity of mankind. It was boldly 
proclaimed, in the face of recorded history, that Captain Kidd's piratical 
vessel was sunken in a storm at this spot with untold treasures on board, 
and that one of his cannons had been raised. Eurthcr, that the deck of 
his vessel had been penetrated by a very long augur, hard substances 
encountered by it, and pieces of silver brought up in its thread — the 
evidence of coffers of specie below. This augur with its bits of silver was 



THE HUDSON. 



273 



exhibited, and the story believed. A stock company was formed. Shares 
were readily taken. The speculator was chief manager. A coffer dam 
was made over the supposed resting-place of the treasure-ship. A steam- 
engine and huge pumps, driven by it, were set in motion. Day after day, 
and month after month, the work went on. One credulous New York 
merchant invested 20,000 dollars in the scheme. The speculator took 
large commissions. Hope failed, the work stopped, and nothing now 




remains to tell the tale but the ruins of the coffer dam and the remains of 
the pumps, which may be seen almost on* a level with the surface of the 
river, at high water. 

The true history of the cannon found there is, probably, that it is one 
of several captured by the Americans at Stony Point, just below, in 1779. 
They attempted to carry the cannon on galleys (flat boats) to West Point, 
According to the narrative of a British officer present, a shot from the 



274 



THE HUDSON. 



Vulture sloop-of-war sunk one of the boats off Dondcr Berg Point. This 
cannon, probably, went to the bottom of the river at that time. And so 
vanishes the right of any of Kidd's descendants to that old cannon. 

A few weeks after my visit to the Donder Berg and its vicinity, I was 
again at Peek's Kill, and upon its broad and beautiful bay. But a great 
change had taken place in the aspect of the scene. The sober foliage of 
late autumn had fallen, and where lately the most gorgeous colours clothed 
the lofty hills in indescribable beauty, nothing but bare stems and 
branches, and grey rugged rocks, were seen, shrouded in the snow that 
covered hill and valley, mountain and plain. The river presented a 
smooth surface of strong ice, and winter, with all its rigours, was holding 
supreme rule in the realm of nature without. 

It was evening when I arrived at Peek's Kill — a cold, serene, moon- 
light evening. Muffled in a thick cloak, and with hands covered by stout 
woollen gloves, I sallied out to transfer to paper and fix in memory the 
scene upon Peck's Kill (or Peek's Kill Creek, as it is erroneously written), 
of which I had obtained a glimpse from the window of the railway-car. 
The frost bit sharply, and cold keen gusts of wind came sweeping from 
the Highlands, while I stood upon the causeway at the drawbridge at the 
mouth of Peek's Kill, and made my evening sketch.* All was cold, 
silent, glittering, and solitary, except a group of young skaters, gliding 
spectre-like in the crisp night air, their merry laughter ringing out clear 
and loud when one of the party was made to "see stars" — not in the 
black arch above — as his head took the place of his heels upon the ice. 
The form of an iron furnace, iu deep shadow, on the southern side of the 
creek, was the only token of human labour to be seen in the view, except 
the cabin of the drawbridge keeper at my side. 

A little north of Peek's Kill Hollow, as the valley is called by the 
inhabitants, is another, lying at the bases of the rugged Highlands, called 
the Canopus Hollow. It is a deep, rich, and interesting valley, through 
which flows the Canopus Creek. In its bosom is pleasant little Continental 



* This railway-bridge and causeway is called Cortlandt Bridge. It is 1,496 feet in leugtli. At its 
nortli-western end is a gi-avelly hill, on which stood a battery, called Fort Independence, dm-ing the 
Eevohition. Tlie Indians called the Peek's Kill Mag-ri-ga-ries, and its vicinity Sack-hoes. 



THE HUDSON. 



275 



Tillage, so named in the time of the Eevolution because the hamlet there 
was made a depot for Continental or Government cattle and stores. These 
were destroyed, three days after the capture of Forts Clinton and Mont- 
gomery, by Governor Tyron, at the head of a baud of German mer- 
cenaries known as Hessians, because a larger portion of the German 
troops, hired by the British Government to assist in crushing the rebellion 
in America, were furnished by the Prince of Hesse Casscl. Tryon, who 




THE PEEK'S KILL. 



had been governor of the colony of New York, and was now a brigadier 
in the royal army, hated the Americans intensely. He really seemed-to 
delight in expeditions of this kind, having almost destroyed Danbury, in 
Connecticut, and East Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk, on the borders of 
Long Island Sound, in the same State. Now, after destroying the public 
stores and slaughtering many cattle, he set fire to almost every house in 
the villa2;e. In allusion to this, and the devastations on the Hudson, 



276 



THE HUDSON. 



above the Highlands, by General Vaughan, Trumbull, an American 
contemporary poet, wrote indignantly : — 



' Behold, like wlielps of Britain's lion, 
Our warriors, Clinton, Vauglian, aud Tr3'on, 
March forth with patriotic joy 
To ravish, plunder, and destroy. 
Great gen'rals ! foremost in their nation, 
The journej-men of desolation. 
Like Samson's foxes, each assails. 
Let loose with fire-brands in their tails, ■ 
And spreads destruction more forlorn 
Than they among Philistine corn." 



It is proper to observe that Tryon's marauding expeditions were con- 








demned by the British public, and the ministry were censured by the 
opposition in parliament for permitting such conduct to pass unrebukcd. 

On the following morning, when the sun had climbed high towards 
meridian, I left Peek's Kill for a day's sketching and observation in the 



THE HUDSON. 277 



winter air. The bay was alive with people of all ages, sexes, and condi- 
tions. It was the first day since a late snow-storm that the river had 
offered good sport for skaters, and the navigators of ice-boats.* It was a 
gay scene. "Wrapped in furs and shawls, over-coats and cloaks, men and 
women, boys and girls, were enjoying the rare exercise with the greatest 
pleasure. Fun, pure fun, ruled the hour. The air was vocal with shouts 
and laughter; and when the swift ice-boat, with sails set, gay pennon 
streaming, and freighted with a dozen boys and girls, came sweeping 
gracefully towards the crowd, — after making a comet-like orbit of four or 
five miles to the feet of the Bonder Berg, Bear Mountain, and Anthony's 
Nose, — there was a sudden shout, and scattering, and merry laughter, 
that would have made old Scrooge, even before his conversion, tremulous 
with delight, and glowing with desires to be a boy again and singing 
Christmas Carols with a hearty good-will. I played the boy with the 
rest for awhile, and then, with long strides upon skates, my satchel with 
portfolio slung over my shoulder, I bore away towards the great lime- 
kilns on the shores of Tomkins's Cove, on the western side of the river, 
four or five miles below. 



* The ice-boats are of various fonns of construction. Usually a strong wooden triangular platform 
is placed upon three sled-runners, having skate-irons on their bottoms. The rear runner is worked on a 
pivot or hinge, by a tiller attached to a post that passes up through the platform, and thereby the boat is 
steered. The sails and rigging are similar to the common large sail-boat. The passengers sit iiat upon 
the platform, and with a good wind are moved rapidly over the ice, oftentimes at the rate of a mile in a 
minute. 



CHAPTEE XV. 




JN" my way to Tomkins's Cove I encountered other groups 

of people, "who appeared in positive contrast with the 

merry skaters on Peek's Kill Bay, They were sober, 

thoughtful, winter fishermen, thickly scattered over 

'^^ the surface, and drawing their long nets from narrow 

fissuies which they had cut in the ice. The tide was " serving," 

and many a striped bass, and white perch, and infant sturgeon 

at times, were drawn out of their warmer element to be 

instantly congealed in the keen wintry air. 

These fishermen often find their calling almost as profitable 
in winter as in April and May, when they draw " schools " of shad from 
the deep. They generally have a " catch" twice a day when the tide is 
" slack," their nets being filled when it is ebbing or flowing. They cut 
fissures in the ice, at right angles with the direction of the tidal currents, 
eight or ten yards in length, and about two feet in width, into which 
they drop their nets, sink them with weights, and stretching them to 
their utmost length, suspend them by sticks that lie across the fissure. 
Baskets, boxes on hand-sledges, and sometimes sledges drawn by a horse, 
are used in carrying the " catch " to land. Lower down the river, in the 
vicinity of the Palisades, when the strength of the ice will allow this 
kind of fishing, bass weighing from thirty to forty pounds each are fre- 
quently caught. These winter fisheries extend from the Bonder Berg to 
Piermont, a distance of about twenty-five miles. 

I went on shore at the ruins of an old lime-kiln at the upper edge of 
Tomkins's Cove, and sketched the fishermen in the distance toward Peek's 
Kill. It was a tedious task, and, with benumbed fingers, I hastened to 
the office and store of the Tomkins Lime Company to seek warmth and 
information. With Mr. Searing, one of the proprietors, I visited the 
kilns. They are the most extensive works of the kind on the Hudson. 



THE HUDSON. 



279 



They are at the foot of au immense cliff of limestone, nearly 200 feet in 
height, immediately behind the kilns, and extend more than half a mile 
along the river. '^' The kilns were numerous, and in their management, and 
the quarrying of the limestone, about 100 men were continually employed. 
I saw them on the brow of the wooded cliff, loosening huge masses and 
sending them below, while others were engaged in blasting, and others 
again in wheeling the lime from the vents of the kilns to heaps in front. 




•\VIM'ER FISU] 



where it is slaked before being placed in vessels for transportation to 
market. This is a necessary precaution against spontaneous combustion. 



* This deposit of limestone occupies a supeiflcial area of nearly 600 acres, extending in tlie rear of 
Stony and Grassy Points, where it disappears beneath the red sandstone formation. It is traversed by 
white veins of carbonate of lime. In 1837 Mr. Tomkins purchased 20 acres of land covering this lime- 
stone bed for 100 dollars an acre, then considered a very extravagant price. The stratum where they 
are now quarrying is at least 500 feet in thickness. It is estimated that an acre of this limestone, 
worked down to the water level, will yield 600,000 barrels of lime, upon which a mean profit of 25 cents 
a barrel is the minimum Some of this limestone is black and variegated, and makes pleasing orna- 
mental marbles. Most of it is blue. 



280 



THE HUDSON. 



Many vessels are employed in caiTving away lime, limestone, and 
"gravel" (pulverized limestone, not fit for the kiln) from Tomkins's 
Cove, for wlioso accommodation several small -wharves have been 
constructed. 

One million bushels of lime were produced at the kilns each year. From 
the quarries, thousands of tons of the stone were sent annually to kilns 
in New Jersey. Troui 20,000 to 25,000 tons of the " gravel " were used 
each year in the construction of macadamised roads. The quarry had 



^^ 








riSHERMEN, FROM THE OLD LIME-KILNS. 



been worked almost twenty-five years. Prom small beginnings the 
establishment had grown to a very extensive one. The dwelling of the 
chief proprietor was upon the hill above the kiln at the upper side of 
the cove ; and near the water the houses of the workmen form a pleasant 
little village. The country behind, for many miles, is very wild, and 
almost uncultivated. 

I followed a narrow road along the bank of the river, to the extreme 



THE HUDSON. 



281 



southern verge of the limestone cliff, near Stony Point, and there 
sketched that famous, bold, rocky peninsula from the test spot where a 
view of its entire length may be obtained. The whole Point is a mass of 
granite rock, with patches of evergreen trees and shrubs, excepting on its 
northern side (at which we are looking in the sketch), where may be seen 
a black cliff of magnetic iron ore. It is too limited in quantity to tempt 
labour or capital to quarry it, and the granite is too much broken to be 




tt 



'^J^' 



TOMKIKS'S LIME.KILNS AND QU.VERV. 



very desirable for building purposes. So that peninsula, clustered with 
historic associations, will ever remain almost unchanged in form and 
feature. A lighthouse, a keeper's lodge, and a fog-bell, occupy its summit. 
These stand upon and within the mounds that mark the site of the old 
fort which was built there at the beginning of the war for independence. 
Stony Point was the theatre of stirring events in the summer of 1779. 
The fort there, and Port Fayette on Yerplanck's Point, on the opposite side 



282 



THE HUDSON. 



of the river, were captured from the Americans by Sir Henry Clinton, on 
the 1st of June of that year. Clinton commanded the troops in person. 
These were conveyed by a small squadron under the command of Admiral 
Collier. The garrison at Stony Point was very small, and retired towards 
West Point on the approach of the British. The fort changed masters 
without bloodshed. The victors pointed the guns of the captured fortress, 
and cannon and bombs brought by themselves, upon Fort Payette the next 







STONi POINT. 



morning. General Vaughan assailed it in the rear, and the little garrison 
soon surrendered themselves prisoners of war. 

These fortresses, commanding the lower entrance to the Highlands, 
were very important. General Anthony Wayne, known as "Mad 
Anthony," on account of his impetuosity and daring in the service, was 
then in command of the Americans in the neighbourhood. Burning with 
a desire to retake the forts, he applied to AVashington for permission to 
make the attempt. It would be perilous in the extreme. The position of 



THE HUDSON. 



283 



the fort was almost impregnable. Situated upon a high rocky peninsula, 
an island at high water, and always inaccessible dry-shod, except across 
a narrow causeway, it was strongly defended by outworks and a double 
row of abattis. "Upon three sides of the rock were the waters of the 
Hudson, and on the fourth was a morass, deep and dangerous. The 
cautious Washington considered ; when the impetuous Wayne, scorning 
all obstacles, said, "General, I'll storm hell if you will only plan it!" 




STONY POINT L 



D FOG-BELL. 



Permission to attack Stony Point was given, preparations were secretly 
made, and at near midnight, on the 15th of July, Wayne led a strong 
force of determined men towards the fortress. They were divided into 
two columns, each led by a forlorn hope of twenty picked men. They 
advanced undiscovered until within pistol-shot of the picket guard on the 
heights. The garrison were suddenly aroused from sleep, and the deep 
silence of the night was broken by the roll of the drum, the loud cry **To 
arms ! to arms ! " the rattle of musketry from the ramparts and behind the 



284 



THE HUDSON. 



ahattis, and the roar of cannon charged with deadly grape-shot. In the 
face of this terrible storm the Americans made their way, by force of 
bayonet, to the centre of the works. Wayne was struck upon the head 
by a musket ball that brought him upon his knees. " March on! " he 
cried. "Carry me into the fort, for I will die at the head of my 
column ! " The wound was not very scyere, and in an hour he had 
sufficiently recovered to write the following note to Washington : — 

" Stoiuj Point, 16th Jul//, 1779, 2 o'cIocJc, a.m. 
"Dear Genekal, — The fort and garrison, with Colonel Johnston, arc 
ours. Our officers and men behaved like men who are determined to be 

free. 

" Yours most respectfully, 

*' Akthony Wayne." 



At dawn the next morning the cannon of the captured fort were again 
turned upon Port Fayette on Yerplanck's Point, then occupied by the 
British under Colonel Webster. A desultory cannonading was kept up 
during the day. Sir Henry Clinton sent relief to Webster, and the 
Americans ceased further attempts to recapture the fortress. They could 
not even retain Stony Point, their numbers were so few. Washington 
ordered them to remove the ordnance and stores, and destroy and abandon 
the works. A large portion of the heavy ordnance was placed upon a 
galley to be conveyed to West Point. It was sunk by a shot from the 
Vulture, off Bonder Berg Point, and one of the cannon, as we have 
observed, raised a few years ago by accident, was supposed to have been 
brought up from the wreck of the ship of the famous Captain Kidd. 
Congress testified its gratitude to Wayne for his services by a vote of thanks 
for his " brave, prudent, and soldierly conduct," and also ordered a gold 
medal, emblematic of the event, to be struck and presented to him. 
Copies of this medal, in silver, were given to two of the subordinate 
officers engaged in the enterprise. 

I climbed to the summit of Stony Point along a steep, narrow, winding 
road from a deserted wharf, the snow almost knee-deep in some places. 
The view was a most interesting one. As connected with the history and 



THE HUDSON. 



285 



traditions of the country, every spot upon which the eye rested wus 
classic ground, and the waters awakened memories of many legends. 
Truthful chronicles and weird stories in abundance arc associated with the 
scenes around. Arnold's treason and Andre's capture and death, the 
"storm ship" and the "bulbous-bottomed Dutch goblin that keeps the 
Donder Berg," already mentioned, and a score of histories and tales 
pressed upon the attention and claimed a passing thought. But the keen 
wintry wind sweeping over the Point kept the mind prosaic. There was 




VEEPLANCK'S POINT, FEOJI STONY POINT LIGHTHOUSE. 



no poetry in the attempts to sketch two or three of the most prominent 
scenes ; and I resolved, when that task was accomplished, to abandon the 
amusement until the warm sun of spring should release the waters from 
their Boreal chains, clothe the earth in verdure, and invite the birds from 
the balmy south to build their nests in the branches where the snow-heaps 
then lay. 

From the lighthouse is a comprehensive view of Verplanck's Point 



286 



THE HUDSON. 



opposite, whereon no vestige of Fort Fayette now remains. A little 
village, pleasant pastui'es and tilled fields in summer, and brick 
manufactories the year round, now occupy the places of former structures 
of war, around which the soil still yields an occasional ball, and bomb, 
and musket shot. The Indians called this place Me-a-nagh. They sold 
it to Stephen Van Cortlandt, in the year 1683, with land east of it called 
A]}-2)a-magh-2)ogh. The purchase was confirmed by patent from the 
English government. On this point Colonel Livingston held command at 



^U 








GEASSr POINT AND 'JOHN MOUNTAIN. 



the time of Arnold's treason, in 1780 ; and hero were the head-quarters of 
Washington for some time in 1782. It was off this point that Henry 
Hudson first anchored the JIdf-Moon after leaving Yonkers. The 
Highland Indians flocked to the vessel in great numbers. One of them 
was killed in an afi'ray, and this circumstance planted ^the seed of hatred 
of the white man in the bosom of the Indians in that region. 

From the southern slope of Stony Point, where the rocks lay in wild 



THE HUDSON. 287 



confusion, a fine view of Grassy Point, Brewster's Cove, Haverstraw Bay, 
the Torn Mountain, and the surrounding country may be obtained. The 
little village of Grassy Point, where brick-making is the staple industrial 
pursuit, 'appeared like a dark tongue thrust out from the surrounding 
whiteness, Haverstraw Bay, which swarms in summer with water-craft 
of every kind, lay on the left, in glittering solitude beneath the wintry 
clouds that gathered while I was there, and cast down a thick, fierce, 
blinding snow-shower, quite unlike that described by Bryant, when he 
sung — 

'•Here delicate snow-stars out of the cloud, 
Come floating downward in airy play. 
Like spangles dropped from the glistening crowd 

That whiten by night the milky way ; 
There broader and burlier masses fall ; 
The sullen water buries them all : 

Flake after flake, 
All drowned in the dark and silent lake." 

The snow-shower soon passed by. The spires of Haverstraw appeared in 
the distance, at the foot of the mountain, and on the right was Treason 
Hill, with the famous mansion of Joshua Hett Smith, who was involved 
in the odium of Arnold's attempt to betray his country. 

Here I will recall the memories of a visit there at the close of a pleasant 
summer day, several years ago. I had lingered upon Stony Point, until 
near sunset, listening to the stories of an old waterman, then eighty-five 
years of age, who assisted in building the fort, and then I started on foot 
for Haverstraw. I stopped frequently to view the beautiful prospect of 
river and country on the east, while the outlines of the distant shores 
were imperceptibly fading as the twilight came on. At dusk I passed an 
acre of ground, lying by the road-side, which was given some years before 
as a burial-place for the neighbourhood. It was already populous. The 
lines of Longfellow were suggested and pondered. He says, — 

" I like that ancient Saxon phrase which calls 
The burial-ground God's Acre ! It is just ; 
It consecrates each grave within its walls, 
And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust. 

" Cod's Acre! Yes, that blessed name imparts 
Comfort to those who in the grave have sown 
The seed that they had parner'd in their hearts. 
Their bread of life, alas ! no more their own." 



THE HUDSON. 



Night had fallen when I reached Treason Hill, so I passed on to the 
village near. Early on the following morning, before the dew had left 
the grass, I sketched Smith's House, where Arnold and Andre completed 
those negotiations concerning the delivery, by the former, of "West Point 
and its defenders into the hands of the British, for a mercenary con- 
sideration, which led to the death of one, and the eternal infamy of the 
other. 

The story of Arnold's treason may be briefly told. We have had 
occasion to allude to it several times already. 




•SMITHS IIOUSK, OX TEEASOX ' HILL. 



c 



Arnold was a brave soldier, but a bad man. He was wicked in boy- 
hood, and in early manhood his conduct was marked by traits that pro- 
mised ultimate disgrace. Impulsive, vindictive, and unscrupulous, he 
was personally unpopular, and was seldom without a quarrel with some 
of liis companions in arms. This led to continual irritations, and his 
ambitious aims were often thwarted.) He fought nobly for freedom 



THE HUDSON. 289 



during the earlier years of the war, but at last his passions gained the 
mastery over his judgment and conscience. 

^\rnold twice received honourable wounds during the war — one at 
Quebec, the other almost two years later at Saratoga ; ■•• both were in the 
leg.Y The one last received, while gallantly fighting the troops of Bur- 
goyne, was not yet healed when, in the spring of 1778, the British army, 
under Sir Henry Clinton, evacuated Philadelphia, and the Americans, 
under Washington, came from their huts at Valley Forge to take their 
places. rArnold, not being able to do active duty in the field, was ap- 
pointed military governor of Philadelphia. Fond of display, he there 
entered upon a course of extravagant living that was instrumental in his 
ruin.^ He made his head-quarters at the fine old mansion built by William 
Penn, kept a coach and four, gave splendid dinner parties, and charmed 
the gayer portions of Philadelphia society with his princely display, filis 
station and the splendour of his equipage captivated the daughter of 
Edwai'd Shippen, a leading loyalist, and afterwards chief justice of Penn- 
sylvania ; she was then only eighteen years of age. Her beauty and 
accomplishments won the heart of the widower of forty. They were 
married. Staunch Whigs shook their heads in doubt concerning the 
alliance of an American general with a leading Tory family?^ 

^mold's extravagance soon brought numerous creditors to his door. 
Rather than retrench his expenses he procured money by a system of 
fraud] and prostitution of his o^cial power : the city being under martial 
law, his will was supreme, (^he peojile became incensed, and official 
inquiries into his conduct were instituted^} first by the local state council, 
and then by the Continental Congress. The latter body referred the 
whole matter to "Washington. Q^he accused was tried by court-martial, 
and he was found guilty of two of four charges. The court passed the 
mildest sentence possible — a mere reprimand by the commander-in-chief. 
This duty Washington performed in the most delicate manner.) " Our 



»/Soon after Arnold joined the British Army, lie was sent with a considerable force npon a marauding 
expecKtion up the James Eiver, in Virginia. In an action not far from Richmond, the capital, some 
Americans were made prisoners. He asked one of them what his countrymen would do with him 
(Arnold) if they should catch him. The prisoner instantly replied, " Bury thMeg that was wounded at 
Quebec and Saratoga with military honours, and hang tlie remainder of you." \ 

P P 



290 THE HUDSON. 



profession," he said, "is the chastest of all; even the shadow of a fault 
tarnishes the lustre of our finest achievements. The least inadvertence 
may rob iis of the public favour, so hard to be acquired. I reprimand 
you for having forgotten that, in proportion as you had rendered yourself 
formidable to our enemies, yon should have been guarded and temperate 
in your deportment towards your fellow citizens. Exhibit anew those 
noble qualities which have placed you on the list of our most valued 
commanders. I will myself furnish you, as far as it may be in my power, 
with opportunities of regaining the esteem of your country." ^ 

What punishment could have been lighter ? (yet Arnold was greatly 
irritated. A year had elapsed since his accusation, and he expected a 
full acquittal) But for nine months the rank weeds of treason had been 
growing luxuriantly in his heart. (He saw no way to extricate himself 
from debt, and retain his position in the army. Por nine months he had 
been in secret correspondence with British officers in !N"ew YorkJ His 
pride was now wounded, his vindictive spirit was aroused, and he resolved 
to sell his country for gold and military rank. [JLe opened a correspon- 
dence in a disguised hand, and in commercial phrase, with Major John 
Andre, the young and highly accomplished adjutant-general of the 
British army.j 
^How far Mrs. Arnold (who had been quite intimate with Major Andre 
in Philadelphia, and had kept up an epistolary correspondence with him 
after the British army had left that city) was implicated in these treason- 
able communications we shall never know.} Justice compels us to say that 
there is no evidence of her having had any knowledge of the transaction 
until the explosion of the plot at Beverly already mentioned. 

Arnold's deportment now suddenly changed. For a long time he had 
been sullen and indifferent ; now his patriotism glowed with all the 
apparent ardour of his earlier career. Hitherto he had pleaded the bad 
state of his wounds as an excuse for inaction ; now they healed rapidly. 
He appeared anxious to join his old companions in arms; and to General 
Schuyler, and other influential men, then in Congress, he expressed an 
ai'dent desire to be in the camp or in the field. They believed him to be 
sincere, and rejoiced. They wrote cheering letters to "Washington on the 
subject ; and, pursuant to Arnold's intim"ation, they suggested the pro- 



THE HUDSON. 291 



d' 



priety of appointing him to the command of "West Point, the most im- 
portant post in the country. Aj."nold visited "Washington's camp at the 
same time/and, in a modest way, expressed a desire to have a command 
like that of West Point, as his wounds would not permit him to perform 
very active service on horsebackj 

The change surprised AVashingtou, yet he was unsuspicious of wrong. 
He gave Arnold the command of ""West Point and its dependencies," 
and furnished him with written instructions on the 3rd of August, 1780. 
Then it was thatTArnold made his head-quarters at Beverly, and worked 
vigorously for'thP consummation of his treasonable designs. There he 
was joined by his wife and infant son. He at once communicated, in his 
disguised writing and commercial phraseology, under the signature of 
Gusfavus, his plan to Sir Henry Clinton, through Major Andre, whom he 
addressed as "John Anderson. '1 That plan we have already alluded to. 
Sir Henry was delighted with it, and eagerly sought to carry it out. He 
was not yet fully aware of the real character behind " Gustavus," although 
for several months he had suspected it to be General Arnold. Unwilling 
to proceed further upon uncertainties, he proposed sending an oificer to 
some point near the American lines, who should have a personal interview 
with his correspondent. "Gustavus" consented, stipulating, however, 
that the messenger from Clinton should be Major Andre, his adjutant- 
generalj 

^Arnold and Andre agreed to meet at Dobbs's Ferry, twenty-two miles 
above New York, upon what was then known as neutral ground. The 
British water-guard prevented the approach of Arnold. Sir Henry, anxious 
to complete the arrangement, and to execute the plan, sent the 7 tcUure 
sloop of war up the river as far as Tarry Town, with Colonel Pvobinson, 
the owner of Beverly, who managed to communicate with Arnold. A 
meetiug of Arnold and Andre was arranged.^ On the morning of the 
20th of August, the latter officer left New York, proceeded by land to 
Dobbs's Perry, and from thence to the Vulture, where it was expected the 
traitor would meet him that night. The wily general avoided the great 
danger. He repaired to the house of Joshua Hett Smith, a brother to the 
Tory chief justice of New York, and employed him to go to the Vulture 
at night, and bring a gentleman to the western shore of the Hudson. 



i92 



THE HUDSON. 



There was delay, and Smith did not make the voyage until the night of 
the 21st, after the moon had gone behind the high hills in the west. 
AVith muffled oars he paddled noiselessly out of Haverstraw Creek, and, 
at little past midnight, reached the Vulture. It was a serene night, not 
a ripple was upon the bosom of the river. Not a word was spoken. The 




jmeetikg-plack of akdee akd ae^old. 



boat came alongside, with a concerted signal, and received Sir Henry's 
representative. (Andre was dressed in his scarlet uniform, but all was 
concealed by a long blue surtout, buttoned to the chin. He was conveyed 
to an estuarv at the foot of Lons Clove Mountain, a little below the 



THE HUDSON. 



293 



Village of Haverstraw. Smith led the officer to a thicket near the shore, 
and then, in a low whisper, introduced " John Anderson " to "Gustavus," 
who acknowledged himself to be Major-General Arnold, of the Continental 
Army. J There, in the deep shadows of night, concealed from human cogni- 
zance, with no witnesses but the stars above them, they discussed the 
dark plans of treason, and plotted the utter ruin of the Eepublican cause. 
The faint harbingers of day began to appear in the east, and yet the con- 
ference was earnest and unfinished. Smith came and urged the necessity 
of haste to pi'event discovery. Much was yet to be done. TArnold had 
expected a protracted interview, and had brought two horses with him. 
AVhile the morning twilight was yet dim, they mounted and started for 
Smith's house. They had not proceeded far when the voice of a sentinel 
challenged them, and Andre found himself entering the American lines. 
He paused, for within them he Avould be a spy. Arnold assured him by 
promises of safety ; and before sunrise they were at Smith's house, on 
what has since been known as Treason Hill. At that moment the sound 
of a cannon came booming over Haverstraw Bay from the eastern shore ; 
and within twenty minutes the Vulture was seen dropping down the river, 
to avoid the shots of an American gun on Teller's Point. To the amaze- 
ment of Andre, s]ic disappcaredJ Deep inquietude stirred his spirit. He 
was within llie American lines, Avithout Hag or pass. If detected, he 
would be called a spy — a name which he despised as much as that of 
traitor. 

\\t noon the whole plan was arranged. Arnold placed in Andre's pos- 
session several papers'-Vfatal papers !— ^xjdanatory of the condition of 
West Point and its dependencies. Zealous for the interests of his king 
and country, Andre, contrary to the explicit orders of Sir Henry Clinton, 
received them. He placed them in his stockings, under his feet, at the 
suggestion of Arnold, received a pass from the traitor in the event of 
his being compelled to return to New York by land, and waited with 
great impatience for the approaching night, when he should be taken in 
a boat to the Vulture.) The remainder of the sad narrative will be re- 
peated presently at a more appropriate point in our journey towards 
the sea. 

lleturning from tliia historical digression, I will recur to the narrative 



294 



THE HUDSON. 



of the events of a winter's day on the Hudson, only to say, that after 
sketching the Lighthouse and Fog-bell structure upon Stony Point, I 
hastened to the river, resumed my skates, and at twilight arrived at 
Peek's Kill, in time to take the railway-car for home. I had experienced 
a tedious but interesting day. The remembrance of it is far more 
delightful than was its endurance. 





CHAPTEE XVI. 

HE winter was mild and constant. No special severity 
marked its dealings, yet it made no deviations in that 
1^'^ respect from the usual course of the season sufficient to 
mark it as an innovator. Its hreath chilled the waters 
early, and for several weeks the Hudson was bridged 
witli strong ice, from the wilderness almost to the sea. Mean- 
while the whole country was covered with a thick mantle of 
snow. Skaters, ice-boats, and sleighs traversed the smooth 
surface of the river with perfect safety, as far down as Peek's 
Kill Bay, and the counties upon its borders, separated by its flood in 
summer, were joined by the solid ice, that offered a medium for pleasant 
intercourse during the short and dreary days of winter. 

Yalentine's Day came — the day in England traditionally associated 
with the wooing of birds and lovers, and when the crocus and the daffodil 
proclaim the approach of spring. Eut here the birds and the early 
flowers were unseen ; the sceptre of the frost king was yet all-potent. 
The blue bird, the robin, and the swallow, our earliest feathered visitors 
from the south, yet lingered in their southern homes. Soon the clouds 
gathered and came down in warm and gentle rain ; the deep snows of 
northern New York melted rapidly, and the Upper Hudson and the 
Mohawk poured out a mighty flood that spread over the valleys, submerged 
town wharves, and burst the ribs of ice yet thick and compact. Down 
came the turbid waters whose attrition below, working with the warm 
sun above, loosened the icy chains that for seventy days had held the 
Hudson in . bondage, and towards the close of February great masses of 
the shivered fetters were moving with the ebb and flow of the tide. The 
snow disappeared, the buds swelled, and, to the delight of all, one 
beautiful morning, when even the dew was not congealed, the blue birds, 
first harbingers of approaching summer, were heard gaily singing in the 



296 



THE HUDSON. 



trees and hedges. It was a -welcome and delightful invitation to the 
fields and waters, and I hastened to the lower borders of the Highland 
region to resume my pen and pencil sketches of the Hudson from the 
wilderness to the sea. 

The air was as balmy as May on the evening of my amval at Sing 
Sing, on the eastern bank of the Hudson, where the State of New York 
has a large penitentiary for men and women. I strolled up the steep 
and winding street to the heart of the village, and took lodgings for the 




siriur riri < n\ t i r 



niglit. The sun was yet two honrs above the horizon. 1 wont out 
immediately upon a short tour of observation, and found ample compen- 
sation for the toil occasioned by the hilly pathways traversed. 

Sing Sing is a very pleasant village, of almost four thousand inhabitants. 
It lies upon a rudely broken slope of hills, that rise about one hundred 
and eighty feet above the river, and overlook Tappan Bay,--' or Tappaanse 
Zee, as the early Dutch settlers called an expansion of the Hudson, 



* Tap-pan was the name of a Mohepaii tribe that inhabited the eastern shores of the bay. 



THE HUDSON. 



297 



extending from Teller's or Croton Point on the north, to the northern 
bluff of the Palisades near Piermont. The origin of the name is to be 
found in the word Sint-sinck, the title of a powerful clan of the Mohegan 




CROTON AQUEDUCT AT SING SING. 



or river Indians, who called this spot Os-sin-ing, from ossin, a stone, and 
ing, a place — stony place. A very appropriate name. The land in this 
vicinity, first parted with by the Indians, was granted to Frederick 

Q Q 



298 



THE HUDSON. 



Pbilipsc (who owned a large manorial estate along the Hudson), 
in 1685. 

Passing through the upper portion of the village of Sing Sing is a 
wild, picturesque ravine, lined with evergreen trees, with sides so rugged 
that the works of man have only here and there found lodgment. Through 
it flows the Kill, as the Dutch called it, or Sint-sinck brook, which rises 
among the hills east of the village, and falls into the Hudson after a 
succession of pretty rapids and cascades. Over it the waters of the 
Croton river pass on their way to supply the city of New York with a 
healthful beverage. Their channel is of heavy masonry, here lying upon 
an elliptical arch of hewn granite, of eighty-eight feet span, its keystone 
more than seventy feet from the waters of the brook under it. This 
great aqueduct will be more fully considered presently. 

On the southern borders of the village of Sing Sing is a rough group 
of small hills, called collectively Mount Pleasant. They are formed of 
dolomitic, or white coarse-grained marble, of excellent quality and 
almost inexhaustible quantity, cropping out from a thin soil in many 
places. At the foot of Mount Pleasant, on the shore of the rivei', is a 
large prison for men, with a number of workshops and other buildings, 
belonging to the State of K'ew York. A little way up the slope is the 
prison for women, a very neat and substantial building, with a fine 
colonnade on the river front. These prisons were built, by convicts about 
thirty years ago, when there were two establishments of the kind in the 
State, one in the city of New York, the other at Auburn, in the interior. 
A new system of prison discipline had been adopted. Instead of the old 
system of indolent, solitary confinement, the workhouse feature was 
combined with incarceration in separate cells at night. They were made 
to work diligently all day, but in perfect silence, no recognition by word, 
look, or gesture, being allowed among them. The adoption of this 
system, in 1823, rendered the prison accommodation insufficient, and a 
new establishment was authorised in 1824. Mount Pleasant, near Sing 
Sing, was purchased, and in May, 1826, Captain Lynds, a farm agent of 
the Auburn prison, proceeded with one hundred felons from that, estab- 
lishment to erect the new penitentiary. They quarried and wrought 
diligently among the marble rocks at Mount Pleasant, and the prison for 



THE HUDSON. 



299 



men was completed in 1829, wlien the convicts in the old State prison in 
the city of New York were removed to it. It had eight hundred cells, 
but these were found to be too few, and in 1831 another story was added 
to the building, and with it two hundred more cells, making one 
thousand in all, the present number. More are needed, for the number 
of convicts in the men's prison, at the beginning of 1861, was a little 
more than thirteen hundred. In the prison for women there were only 





ATE l>iiISO> AT &IN& SI^&. 



one hundred cells, while the number of convicts was one hundred and 
fifty at that time. 

The ground occupied by the prisons is about ten feet above high-water 
mark. The main building, in which are the cells, is four hundred and 
eighty feet in length, forty-four feet in width, and five stories in height. 
Between the outside walls and the cells there is a space of about twelve 
feet, open from floor to roof. A part of it is occupied by a series of 



300 



THE HUDSON. 



galleries, there being u row of one hundi-ed cells to each story on both 
fronts, and backing each other. Between the prison and the river are 
the several workshops, in which various trades are carried on. In front 
of the prison for women is the guard-house, where arms and instructions 
are given out to thirty-one guardsmen every morning. Between the 
guard-house and the prison the Hudson Eiver Railway passes, partly 
through two tunnels and a deep trench. TIpon the highest points of 
Mount Pleasant are guard-houses, which overlook the quarries and other 
places of industrial operations. 




SI'ATE PEISOKl 



It was just at sunset when I finished my sketch of the prisons and 
workshops. A large portion of Tappan Bay, and the range of high hills 
upon its western shore, were then immersed in a thin purple mist, so 
frequently seen in this region on balmy afternoons in the spring and 
autumn. The prison bell rang as I was turning to leave the scene, and 
soon a troop of convicts, dressed* i^, the felon's garb, and accompanied by 
overseers, was marched towards the prison and taken to their cells, there 
to be fed and locked up for the night. Their costume consists of a short 



THE HUDSON. 



301 



coit, vest, pantaloons, and cap, made of white kerseymere cloth, broadly 
striped with black. The stripes pass around the arms and legs, but are 
perpendicular upon the body of the coat. 

I visited the prisons early the following morning, in company with one 
of the officers. AVe first went through that in which the women are 
kept, and I was surprised at the absence of aspects of crime in the 
appearance of most of the convicts. The cells were all open, and many 
of them displayed evidences of taste and sentiment, hardly to be 
suspected in criminals. Fancy needlework, cheap pictures, and other 
ornaments, gave some of the cells an appearance of comfort ; but the 
wretchedly narrow spaces into which, in several instances, two of the 
convicts are placed together at night, because of a want of more cells, 
dispelled the temporary illusion that prison life was not so very uncomfort- 
able after all. The household drudgery and cookery were performed by 
the convicts, chiefly by the coloured ones, and a large number were 
employed in binding hats that are manufactured in the men's prison. 
They sat in a series of rows, under the eyes of female overseers, silent, 
yet not very sad. Most of them were young, many of them interesting 
and innocent in their appearance, and two or three really beautiful. The 
crime of a majority of them was grand larceny. 

There was one woman there, six-and-thirty years of age, whose case 
was a sad one. She seemed to have been, through life, the victim of 
others' crimes, and doomed to suffer more for the sins of others than for 
her own. Years ago, a fi'iend of the writer arrived at New York at an 
early hour one morning, and was led by curiosity to the police office, 
Avhere persons arrested by watchmen during the night were disposed of 
at dawn. Whilst there, a beautiful young girl, shrinking from public 
gaze, and weeping as if her heart was breaking, was brought in. When 
her turn for examination came, the justice, too accustomed to the sight of 
vicious persons to exercise much compassion, accosted her rudely, she 
having been picked up as a sti'eet wanderer, and accused of vagrancy. 
She told a simple, touching story of her wrongs and misery. Only a 
month before, she had been the innocent daughter of loving parents in 
Connecticut. She came to the metropolis to visit an aunt, whose vicious 
son invited her to attend him to the theatre. She went without 



302 



THE HUDSON. 



suspicion, took some refreshments which he offered her at the play, 
became oblivious within half an hour after partaking of the spiced wine 
which the young rillain had drugged, and before morning found herself 
covered with shame in a strange house in a strange part of the city. 
Utterly cast down, she avoided both aunt and parents. She was soon 
cast away by her wicked cousin, and on the night of her arrest was 
wandering alone, without shelter or hope. She was compelled to bow to 
her fate, whilst the law, at that time, could not touch the author of her 
degradation, who further wronged her by foulest slander, to palliate his 
own wickedness. Justice was not then so kindly disposed towards the 
erring and unfortunate as now. There was no Magdalen refuge for her, 
and the magistrate, with almost brutal roughness, reproached her, and 
sent her to " the Island"'^' for six months as a vagrant. The gentleman 
who witnessed this scene became possessed of her subsequent history. 

Associated with the vile, her degradation was complete, while her 
innate virtue struggled for existence. She was an outcast at the age of 
seventeen. Parental affection, yielding to the stern demands of social 
ethics, sought not to rescue or reform the child. She had " disgraced 
her family," and that offence was suflflcient to win for her an eternal 
exile. "When the law was satisfied, she went forth with virtuous resolves, 
and sought a livelihood through menial service. Twice she was pointed 
at as a Magdalen and convict, and sought refuge from recognition in 
other places. At length a gleam of hope beamed upon her. She was 
wooed by a man who seemed honest and true, who had been charmed by 
her beauty. They were married. She was again allied with human 
sympathy, and was happy. Years passed by. A cloud appeared. She 
suspected her husband to be in league with burglars and counterfeiters. 
She accused him inquiringly, and he confessed his guilt. She pleaded 
with him most tenderly, for the sake of herself and their three babes, to 
abandon his course of life. Her words were inejffectual. His vile 
associates became bold. His house became the receptacle of burglars' 
plunder, and the head-quarters of counterfeiting. To her the world was 
shut. She had sympathy only with her husband and children. She had 



Blackwell's Island, in the East River, which will be noticed liereafter. 



THE HUDSON. 



303 



not courage to leave the loathed atmosphere of crime that filled her 
dwelling, and encounter again the hlasts of a selfish world. She became 
a passive participator in guilt. Detection soon followed transgression. 
She was arraigned as an accomplice of her husband and his associates in 
counterfeiting. The proof was clear, and conviction followed. Throe 
years before my visit she had been sent to the state prison for five years, 
and her husband for ten years. They have never met since hearing their 
sentence. Their babes were taken to the almshouse, and that crushed 
woman sat desolate within the prison walls. Meekly she performed her 
daily duties. There was a sweet sadness in her pale face. She was not 
a criminal in the eye of Divine justice ; she was a victim to be pitied — 
the wreck of an innocent and beautiful girl. Surely there must be some- 
thing radically wrong in the constitution of our society, that permits 
tender flowers to , be thus blasted and thus neglected, and become like 
worthless weeds, to be trampled upon and forgotten. 

In the prison for men, and in the woi-kshops, everything is carried on 
with the most perfect order ; every kind of labour, the meals, the religious 
exercises in the chapel, are all conducted according to the most rigid 
rules. The discipline is consequently quite perfect. Reformation, not 
merely punishnenf, is the great aim, and the history of the prison attests 
the success of the effort. Severe punishments are becoming more and more 
rare, and the terrible Shower Bath, which has been so justly condemned by 
the humane, is now seldom used, and then in the presence of the prison 
physician. Only when all other means for forcing obedience have failed, 
is this horrid punishment inflicted. It is admitted, I believe, that the 
Mount Pleasant or Sing Sing prison is one of the best conducted 
penitentiaries iu the world. 

On returning to the village across the flelds northward of Mount 
Pleasant, I obtained a full view of Teller's or Croton Point, which divides 
Tappan from Haverstraw Bay, It is almost two miles in length, and was 
called Se-nas-qua by the Indians, and by the English, Sarah's Point, in 
honour of Sarah, wife of "William Teller, who purchased it of the Indians 
•for a barrel of rum and twelve blankets. It was called Teller's Point 
until within a few years, when the name of Croton was given to it. Near 
its extremity, within a pleasant, embowered lawn, stood the Italian villa 



304 



THE HUDSON. 



of E. T. TJnderhill, M.D., who was sixth in descent from the famous 
Captain TJnderhill, a leader in the Indian wars of New England. The 
Point was owned by himself and brother, both of whom had extensive 
vineyards and luxuriant orchards. They had about eighty acres covered 
with the Isabella and Catawba grape vine, sixty of which belonged to the 
doctor. They also raised fine apples and melons in great abundance. 
From our point of view, near Sing Sing landing, the village of Haverstraw 
is seen in the vista between Croton Point and the High Torn Mountain on 
the left. 




CROTOX POI.NT, FRO.M SI> 



It was now the first day of March, and very warm ; the surface of the 
river was unruffled by a breeze. Knowing how boisterous and blustering 
this first spring month generally is, I took advantage of the fine weather, 
and crossed Tappan Bay to Rockland Lake village (formerly Slaughter's 
Landing), opposite Sing Sing, the most extensive ice-station on the river. 
After considerable delay, I procured a boat and oarsman — the former very 
leaky, and the latter very accommodating. The bay is here between two 
and three miles wide. We passed a few masses of floating ice and some 



THE HUDSON. 



305 



sailing vessels, and at little past noon landed at Eockland, where the 
Knickerbocker Ice Company had a wharf and barges, and a large inclined- 
plane railway, down which ice, brought from the adjacent lake, was sent 
to the vessels in the river. 




It was a weary way up the steep shore to the village and the lake, on 
the borders of a high and well-cultivated valley, half a mile from the river. 
This is the famous Rockland Lake, whose congealed waters have been so 



306 



THE HUDSON. 



long familiar to the thirsty dwellers ia the metropolis. It is a lovely 
sheet of water, one hundred and fifty feet above the river. On its south- 
eastern borders, excep ting where the village and ice-houses skirt it, are 
steep, rugged shores, "Westward, a fertile country stretches away many 
a niilc to rough hills and blue mountains. The lake is an ii-regular ellipse 
in form, half a mile in length, and three-fourths of a mile at its greatest 
width, and covers about five hundred acres. It is supplied by springs in 
its own bosom, and clear mountain brooks, and forms the head waters of 
the Hackensack river, which flows through New Jersey, and reaches the 







salt water in Newark Bay. Near its outlet, upon a grassy peninsula, is 
the residence of Moses Gr. Leonard, Esq., seen in the picture ; and in the 
distance, from our point of view, is seen the peak of the great Torn 
Mountain, back of Haverstraw. Along the eastern margin of the lake 
were extensive buildings for the storeage of ice in winter, at which time 
a thousand men were sometimes employed. The crop averaged nearly 
two hundred thousand tons a-ycar ; and during the warm season, one 
hundred men were employed in conveying it to the river, and fifteen 



THE HUDSON. 



307 



barges were used in transporting it to New York, for distribution there, 
and exportation. 

"We crossed the bay to Croton Point, visited the villa and vineyards of 




MOLTH 01 THE CROTON. 



Doctor XJnderhill, and then rowed up Croton Bay to the mouth of the 
river, passing, on our way, under the drawbridge of the Hudson Eiver 
Railway. It was late in the afternoon. There was a remarkable 



308 



THE HUDSON. 



stillness and dreamy repose in the atmosphere, and we glided almost 
noiselessly up the bay, in company with two or three duck-hunters, in 
their little cockles. The tide was ebbing, and as we approached the 
mouth of the Croton, the current became more and more rapid, until we 
found ourselves in a shallow rift abreast the Van Cortlandt Manor House, 
unable to proceed. After vain efforts of our united strength to stem the 
current, the boatman landed me on the southern shore of the stream. 
After satisfying his extortionate demand of about the price of three fares 
for his services, I dismissed him, with a strong desire never again to fall 
into his hands ; and then clambered up the rough bank by the margin of 
a brook, and made my way to the " post road," a most picturesque highway 
along the lofty banks of the Croton. When near the "High Bridge," at 
the old head of boat navigation, I obtained a most interesting view of the 
Mouth of the Croton, including Dover Kill Island near, the railway- 
bridge in the distance, and the high hills on the western shore of the 
Hudson in the extreme distance. The scenery thereabout is both 
picturesque and beautiful, and such is its character to the very sources 
of this famous stream eastward of the Pawling Mountains, whose clear 
waters supply the city of New York with wholesome beverage. 

The ancient name of the Croton was Kitch-a-tvan, signifying a large 
and swift current. ^The Dutch called it Croton in memory of an Indian 
Sachem of that name, -whose habitation was on the northern border of the 
bay, near the neck, a little below the mouth of the river. Its sources are 
among the hills of Putnam and Duchess, and it has five considerable 
tributaries, all of mountain birth. When the authorities of the city of 
New York were seeking sources of ample supply of pure water, their 
attention was early called to this stream. Commissioners reported in 
favour of its use, though far away; and in May, 1837, the construction of 
an aqueduct from a point six miles from its mouth to the metropolis was 
begun. At the head of the aqueduct a dam was constructed, for the 
purpose of forming a fountain reservoir ^^ At the beginning of 1841 a 
flood, produced by a protracted rain-storm and melting snows, swept 
away the dam, and carried with it, riverward, a quantity of earth and 
gravel, sufficient to half fill the beautiful Croton Bay. The dam was 
immediately rebuilt, at greater altitude, and a lake was produced, almost 



THE HUDSON. 



309 



six miles in length, containing about 500,000,000 gallons. It is 166 feet 
above mean tide-water at New York, and pours into the aqueduct from 
40,000,000 to 50,000,000 gallons every twenty-four hours. Not having 
time to visit the fountain reservoir, I have availed myself of the pencil 
services of a friend, in giving a sketch of the dam from a point just 
below it. 

The Croton aqueduct runs parallel with the Iludson, at the mean 
distance of half a mile from it throughout its entire length. Its course is 



I 




CROrON DAM. 



marked by culverts and arches of solid masonry, and its line may be 
observed at a distance by white stone towers, about fifteen feet in height, 
placed at intervals of a mile. These are ventilators of the aqueduct ; 
some of them are quite ornamental, as in the case of the one at Sing Sing, 
others are simple round towers, and every third one has a square base, 
with a door by which a person may enter the aqueduct. At the top of 
each is an iron screen, to prevent substances from being cast into the 



310 



THE HUDSON. 



ventilators. Our little group shows the different forms of these towers, 
which present a feature in the landscape on the eastern shore of the river, 
to voyagers on the Hudson. (This great work was completeil, and the 
water opened to the use of the inhabitants of New York, in the autumn 
of 1842. Its cost was about $12,000,000._) We shall meet with it 
frequently in our future tour towards the city. 

The "High Bridge " over the Croton, at the old head of the navigation, 
was a wooden, rickety structure, destined soon to fall in disuse and 
absolute decay, because of a substantial new bridge, then being 



~~_ iijiiifiji- 




\EIsTIL\10ES. 



constructed across the head of the bay, almost a mile below, by which the 
route from Croton to Sing Sing would be much shortened. Here was the 
"Croton Bridge" of revolutionary times, frequently mentioned in 
connection with military movements between New York and the High- 
lands ; and here is now the scene of most important experiments in the 
production of malleable iron from the ore, by a simple process, which, if 
successful, would produce a marked change in the iron manufacture. It 
is a process of deoxidizing iron ore in a heated hollow screw, out of which, 
when the process is completed, it drops into the furnace, avoids all fluxes, 
and comes out "blooms" of the finest iron. Mr. Rogers, the inventor, 



THE HUDSON. 



311 



claimed that by this process there would be a saving of from eight to 
twelve dollars a ton in the production of iron — a matter of great 
importance to such isolated districts as that of the Adirondack works at 
the sources of the Hudson already mentioned. It was from Bayley's 
rolling mill, at the foot of the rapids in the Croton, just above the old 
High Bridge, where these experiments were going on, that I made the 
sketch of that dilapidated affair, just at sunset. 

Crossing the bridge, I strolled down the right bank of the Croton, along 




HIGH MBIDGE OViiE THE UBOTOX 



the high margin of the stream, to the Van Cortlandt Manor House, 
passing the old Ferry House on the way, where a party of New York 
levies, under Captain Daniel "Williams, were surprised by some British 
horsemen in the winter of 1782. At the entrance gate to the mansion 
grounds, at twilight, I met Colonel Pierre Van Cortlandt, the present 
proprietor, and accepted his cordial invitation to partake of the hospitalities 
of Jfiis house for the night. 

(The Van Cortlandt Manor House stands near the shore of Croton Bay. 
It was erected at the beginning of the last century, by John Van 



312 



THE HUDSON. 



Cortlandt, eldest son of the first lord of the manor, and is now more than 
one hundred and fifty years old. Orlofi' Stevenson Yan Cortlandt, father 
of the first proprietor of this estate, was a lineal descendant of the Dukes 
of Courland, in Russia. His ancestors emigrated to Holland, when 
deprived of the Duchy of Courland.) The family name was Stevens, or 
Stevensen, van (or from) Courland. They adopted the latter as a 
surname, the true orthography of which, in Dutch, is Korte (short), and 








^^m A 



VAN CORTLANDT MANOE HOVSE. 



landt (land), a term expressing the form of the ancient Duchy of Courland. 
Orloff emigrated to America, and settled in Xew Amsterdam (New York), 
and in 1697 his son Stephen purchased the large estate on the Hudson, 
afterwards known as the Yan Cortlandt Manor. By intermarriages, the 
Yan Coi'tlandts are connected with nearly all of the leading families of 
New York — the Schuylers, Beekmans, Yan Renselaers, De Peysters, De 
Lancys, Bayards, &c. The Manor House was built of heavy stone ; and 



THE HUDSON. 



313 



the thick walls were piei-ced with loopholes for musketry to be used in 
defence against the Indians. It has been somewhat changed in aspect, 
by covering the round stone with stucco. Its front, graced by a pleasant 
lawn, commands an extensive view of the bay, and of the Hudson beyond. 
In that bay, under the she]ter of Croton Point, Hendrick Hudson 
anchored the Half-Moon, on the evening of the first of October, 1609;! 
and such a resort were these waters for canvas-back ducks, and other 
water-fowl, that, as early as 1683, Governor Dongan came there to enjoy 
the sport of fowling. There, too, great quantities of shad were caught. 
But its glory is departed. The flood of 1841, that swept away the Croton 
Dam, almost filled the bay with earth ; it is accumulating there every 
hour ; and, in the course of a few years, the Van Cortlandt estate will 
have many acres of fine meadow laud added to it, where once large vessels 
miaht ride at anchor. 



CHAPTER XVII. 




HE Van Cortlaudt mansionJ of which a sketch appears 
in the last Chapter, is clustered with historic associa- 
tions, llnv^as the summer home of the master, whose 
town residence was a stately one for the colonial 
times. There, at early, as well as at later, periods, 
|i|'' the wealthy and the high-born of the land frequently assembled 
" ^^ ^ as guests. Erom its broad piazza the famous Whitefield preached 
to a large audience upon the lawn.^ There, in 1774, Governor 
Tryon, and Edmund Fanning, his secretary, came on a mission 
of bribery to General Van Cortlandt, who had espoused the. cause of the 
colonists. They offered him lands and titles for his allegiance to the 
crown, but they were refused. Under that roof the illustrious "Washington 
was a frequent guest when the army was in that vicinity ; and the parlour 
was once honoured by the presence of the immortal Franklin. There 
may be seen many mementoes of the past : the horns of a stag killed on 
the manor, when deer ran wild there ; the buttons from the yager coat 
worn by one of the captors of Andre ; a box made of the wood of the 
Mideavour, the ship in which Cook navigated the globe, et cetera. 

On the morning after my arrival, accompanied by Mrs. Van Cortlandt, 
I rode to the village of Croton, a mile distant, to visit one of twin sisters, 
who were ninety years old in August, I860.*' On our way we turned 
into the cemetery of the Van Cortlandt family, upon a beautiful point of 
land, commanding an extensive view of the Hudson southward. A little 
west of the cemetery, at the neck of land which connects Croton Point 
with the main, stood the old fort or castle of Kitch-a-wan, said to have 
been one of the most ancient Indian foi'tresses south of the Highlands. 
It was built by the Sachem Croton, when he assembled his parties for 



* Those sisters were living at the beginning of 18G(5. 



THE HUDSON. 315 



hunting or war. In a beautiful nook, a little east of the site of the fort, 
on the borders of Haunted Hollow, is the Kitcli-a-wan burying-ground. 
Around this locality hovers the memory of many a weird story of the 
early times, when the superstitious people believed that they often saw, 
in the groves and glens there, the forms of the departed red men. They 
called them the Walking Sachems of Teller's Point. 

We visited one of the twin sisters at Croton, Mrs. Miriam Williams. 
Her memory of long-past events seemed very faithful, but the mind of 
her sister had almost perished with age. They had both lived in that 
vicinity since their birth, having married and settled there in early life. 
Mrs. WiUiams had a perfect recollection of Washington, when he was 
quartered with the army near Yerplanck's Point. On one occasion, she 
said, he dismounted in front of her father's house, and asked for some 
food. As he entered, the twins were standing near the door. Placing 
his hands upon their heads, he said, "You are as alike as two eggs. May 
you have long life." He entered with her father, and the children peeped 
curiously in at the door. A morsel of food and a cup of cold water was 
placed upon the table, when Washington stepped forward, laid his hand 
upon the board, closed his eyes, and reverently asked a blessing, their 
father having, meanwhile, raised his hat from his head. "And here," 
said Mrs. Williams, pointing to a small oval table near her, " is the very 
table at which that good man asked a blessing." 

From the little village of Croton, or Collaberg Landing, I rode to the 
dwelling of a friend (James Cockroft, Esq.), about two miles northward, 
passing on the way the old house of Tellar (now Moodie), where the 
incident just related occurred. Accompanied by Mr. Cockroft and his 
neighbour, J. W. Prost, Esq., I climbed to the summit of Prickly Pear 
Hill (so called from the fact that a species of cactus, called Prickly Pear, 
grows there abundantly), almost five hundred feet above the river, from 
which may be obtained the most extensive and interesting views in all 
that region. From no point on the Hudson can be seen, at a glance, such 
a cluster of historic localities, as from this eminence. Here Washington 
was encamped in 1782, and made this pinnacle his chief observatory. At 
one sweep of the vision may be seen the lofty ranges of the Highlands, 
and the Fish Kill Mountains, with all the intervening coiintry adjacent 



316 



THE HUDSON. 



to Peek's Kill, Verplanck's and Stony Points, the theatres of important 
military events during the war for independence; Haverstraw, where 
Arnold and And)-e had their conference ; Teller's Point, off which the 
Vulture lay, and from which she received a cannonading that drove her 
down the river ; King's Ferry, where Andre crossed the Hudson ; the 
place of Pine's Bridge on the Croton, where he was suspected ; Tarrytown, 
where he was captured, and the long wharf of Piermont, near Tappan, 
where he was executed. All of these, with the villages on the eastern 




VIEAV FROM PRICKLY PEAR HILL. 



shore of the Hudson, from Cruger's to York Island, may be seen from 
this hill. Before it lies Haverstraw Bay, the widest expanse of the 
Hudson, with all its historic and legendary associations, which limited 
space forbids us to portray. Here the fresh and salt water usually con- 
tend most equally for the mastery; and here the porpoise,* a sea- water 



♦ Porpoise communis; geims I'hodEiia, supposed to be the Tursio of Pliny. It is from four to eight 
feet in length, nearly of a black colour above, and whitish beneath. Tliey are found in all our northern 
seas and bays. They swim in shoals, and pursue other fishes up bays and rivers, with the avidity of 
hounds after game. In fine weather they leap, roll, and tiunUe, in great glee, especially in late spring 
time. They yield a very fine oil. 



THE HUDSON. 



31: 



iish, is often seen in large numbers, sporting in the summer sun. Here, 
in the spring, vast numbers of shad are caught while on their "way to 
spawning places in fresli-watcr coves ; and hero, at all seasons, most 
delicious fish may be taken in great abundance. All things considered, 
this is one of the most interesting points for a summer residence to be 
found on the Hudson. 

The highways, on land and water, from the Croton to the Spuyten 
Duyvil Creek, at the head of York Island, pass through exceedingly 
beautiful and picturesfine scenery, made classical to tlie American mind 



^ 'l' 







.^tss^$>^-^\' 



HK POEPOISK. 



because of most interesting historical associations. Uu the west side of 
the Hudson, seen by the traveller on road, railway, or river, is a bold 
mountain shore, having a few cultivated slopes and pleasant villages as 
far down as the lower extremity of Tappan Bay. Prom that point there 
are presented, for about twenty miles southward, perpendicular walls of 
rock, with bases in buttress form, called the Palisades, fronting imme- 
diately on, and rising several hundred feet above, the river. On the east 
the voyager sees a beautiful, high, undulating country, well cultivated, 
and sprinkled with villages and hamlets. 



318 



THE HUDSON. 



The drive from Sing Sing to King's Bridge at Spuyten Duyvil Creek, 
along the old post-road, is attractive at all seasons of the year, but more 
especially in spring and early summer, when the trees are in leaf, because 
of the ever-varying aspects of the landscape. Fine mansions and villa 
residences are seen on every side, where, only a few years ago, good taste 
was continually offended by uncouth farmhouses, built for utility only, 




without a single thought of harmony or beauty. Now all is changed, 
and the eye is as continually pleased. 

One of the finest of the older country seats in this region was the 
mansion of General Aaron "Ward, overlooking the village of Sing Sing, 
and commanding a very extensive view of the Hudson and its distant 
shores. General "Ward is one of the most distinguished men in "Westchester 



THE HUDSON. 319 



County, and is descended from an early settler in that region. He was 
an officer in the American army during the war with Great Britain in 
1812 — 15, and at its close conducted the first detachment of the British 
prisoners from the States to Canada. Law was his chosen profession, 
and in 1825 he became a law-maker, by election to the Lower House of 
the National Congress. He was an active and efficient worker, and the 
satisfaction of his constituency was certified by their retaining him as 
their representative, by re-election, twelve out of eighteen consecutive 
years. He assisted in framing the present constitution of the State of 
New York, in 1846, and since then has declined invitations to public 
service. During the years 1859 and 1860, he visited Egypt and the 
Holy Land. His narrative of his journey, published under the title of 
" Around the Pyramids," is considered one of the most truthful produc- 
tions of its kind from the pen of an American. Sing Sing owes much to 
General "Ward's enterprise and public spirit, and he is sincerely honoured 
and beloved in the community where he resides. 

Pleasant residences — some embowered, others standing out in the 
bright sunlight near groves and woods — delight the eye more and more as 
we approach the large village of Tarrytown, twenty-seven miles from 
New York. Of these the most conspicuous between the little hamlet of 
Scarborough, below Sing Sing and Tarrytown, is that of Mr. Aspinwall, 
a wealthy New York merchant. Near it was the residence of General 
James Watson Webb, then the veteran editor and proprietor of the New 
York Courier and Inquirer, and well known, personally, and by reputation, 
in both hemispheres as a gentleman of rare abilities as a journalist. At 
the beginning of the Civil War, General Webb was appointed resident 
minister at the court of Pedro II., emperor of Brazil, in which position 
he continued during the entire struggle. 

Approaching Tarrytown, we observe upon the left of the highway an 
already populous cemetery, covering the crown and slopes of a gentle hill. 
Near its base is an ancient church, and a little beyond it flows a clear 
stream of water, which the Indians called Po-can-te-co, signifying a '' run 
between two hills." It makes its way in a swift current from the back 
country, between a hundred hills, presenting a thousand scenes of 
singular beauty in its course. The Dutch named it Slaeperigh Eaven 



320 



THE HUDSON. 



Kill, or Sleepy Haveu Creek, and the valley in the .vicinity of the old 
church, through which it flowed, Slaeperigh Uol, or felecpy Hollowy the 
scene of Washington Irving's famous legend of that name. 

The little old churchHs a curiosity. It ■^as huilt, says an inscription 
upon a small marble tablet on its front, by "Frederic Philips and 
Catharine Van Cortland, his wife, in 1699," and is the oldest church 
edifice existing in the State of New York. It was built of brick and 
stone, the former imported from Holland for the purpose. Over its little 




\NtIENr 1>LTCH CHtFtH 



Spire still turns the flag-shaped vane of iron, in which is cut the monograni 
of its founder (VF in combination, his name being spelt in Dutch, 
Vedryck Flypsen) ; and in the little tower hangs the ancient bell, 
beai"ingthe inscription in Latin, "7/" God he for %is, %cho can he against us? 
1685." The pulpit and communion table were also imported from 
Holland. The former was long since destroyed by the iconoclastic hand 
of "improvement."] 

^t this quiet old church is the opening of Sleepy Hollow, upon the 
shores of the Hudson, and near it is a rustic bridge that crosses the 



THE HUDSON. 



321 



Po-can-te-co, a little below the one made famous in Irving' s legend by an 
amusing incident.* In this vicinity, according to the legend, Ichabod 




SLEEPY HOLLOW BEIDGE, 



Crane, a Connecticut schoolmaster, instructed "tough, wrong-headed, 



* " Over a deep, black part of the stream, not far from the church," says Mr. Ir\-iiig, in his " Legend 
of Sleepy Hollow," " was formerly tlirown a wooden bridge ; the road that led to it, and the biidge 
itself, were thickly shaded by overhanging trees, which cast a gloom about it even in the daytime, but 
occasioned a fearful darkness at night." 



T T 



322 



THE HUDSON. 



broad-skirted, Dutch urchins" in the rudiments of learning. He was 
also the singing-master of the neighbourhood. Not far off lived old 
Baltus Van Tassel, a well-to-do farmer, whose house was called WolferVs 
Roost. He had a blooming and only daughter named Katrina, and 
Ichabod was her tutor in psalmody, training her voice to mingle sweetly 
with those of the choir which he led at Sabbath-day worship in the 
Sleepy Hollow Church. Ichabod '' had a soft and foolish heart toward 
the sex." He fell in love with Katrina. He found a rival in his suit in 
stalwart, bony Brom Van Brunt, commonly known as Brom Bones. 
Jealousies arose, and the J)utchman resolved to drive the Yankee school- 
master from the country. J 

r Strange stories of ghosts in Sleepy Hollow were believed by all, and by 
none more implicitly than Ichabod. The chief goblin seen there was 
that of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon 
ball. This spectre was known all over the country as " The Headless 
Horseman of Sleepy Hollow." 

Ichabod was invited to a social evening party at the house of Van 
Tassel. He went with alacrity, and borrowed a lean horse called Gun- 
powder for tlie journey. Brom Bones was also there. When the 
company broke up, Ichabod lingered to have a few words with Katrina. 
He then bestrode Gunpowder, and started for home. When within half 
a mile of the old church, a horse and rider, huge, black, and mysterious, 
suddenly appeared by his side. The rider was headless, and to the 
horror of the pedagogue it was discovered that he carried his head in his 
hand, on the pommel of his saddle. Ichabod was half dead with fear. 
He urged Gunpowder forward to escape the demon, but in vain. The 
headless horseman followed. The walls of the old church appeared in 
the dim starlight of the midnight hour. The log bridge, in the deep 
shadows of the trees, was near. " If I can but reach that bridge," 
thought Ichabod, "I shall be safe." Just then he heard the black steed 
panting and blowing close behind him ; he even fancied that he felt his 
hot breath. Another convulsive kick in the ribs and old Gunpowder 
sprang upon the bridge : he thundered over the resounding planks ; he 
gained the opposite side ; and now Ichabod cast a look behind to see if 
his pursuer would vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brim- 



THE HUDSON. 323 



stone. Just then lie saw the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very 
act of hurling his head at him. Ichabod endeavoured to dodge the 
horrible missile, but too late ; it encountered his cranium with a terrible 
crash ; he was tumbled headlong into the dust, and Gunpowder, the black 
steed, and the goblin rider, passed like a whirlwind. A shattered 
pumpkin was found in the road the next day, and Brom Jones not 
long afterwards led Katrina Yan Tassel to the altar as his bride. 
Ichabod was never heard of afterwards. The people always believed he 
had been spirited away by the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, 
who, on that occasion, some knowing oneSxSupposed to have been a being 
no more ghostly than Brom Bones himself, j 

Let us climb over this stile by the corner of the old church, into the 
yard where so many of the pilgrims of earth are sleeping, (llere arc 
mossy stones with half obliterated epitaphs, marking the graves of many 
early settlers, among whom is one, upon whose monumental slab it is 
recorded, that he lived until he was " one hundred and three years old," 
and had one hundred and twenty-four children and grandchildren at the 
time of his death I\ Let us pass on up this narrow winding path, and 
cross the almost invisible boundary between the old "graveyard" and 
the new " cemetery." Here, well up towards the summit of the hill near 
the " receiving vault," upon a beautiful sunny slope, is an enclosure 
made of iron bars and privet hedge, with open gate, inviting entrance. 
^Tliere in line stand several slabs of white marble, only two feet in height, 
at the head of as many oblong hillocks, covered with turf and budding 
spring flowers. Upon one of these, near the centre, we read : — 

WASHINGTON, 

SON OF 

WILLIAM AND 

SAEAH S. IRVING, 

DIED 

NOV. 28, 1859, 
AGED 76 YEARS 7 MO. J 
AND 25 DAYS. ' 

This is the grave of the immortal Geoffrey Crayon I ^' Upon it lie 

* 111 tlie Episcopal Church at Tarrylowii, ui wliicli Jlr. Irving wiis a coinniunicaiit for many years, a 
small marble tablet has been placed by the vestry, with an appropriate inscription to his memory. 



324 



THE HUDSON. 



•wreaths of •withered flowers, -which have been killed by frosts, and buried 
by drifts of lately departed snow. These -will not long remain, for all 
summer long fresh, and fragrant ones arc lai 1 upon that honoured grave 




by fair hands that pluck them from many a neighbouring garden. Here, 
at all times, these sweet tributes of affection may be seen, -when the trees 
are in leaf. 



THE HUDSON. 325 



This lovely burial spot, from wliich may bo scon Sleepy Hollow, the 
ancient church, the sparkling waters of the ro-can-fe-co, spreading out 
into a little lake above tlie picturesque old dam at the mill of Castle 
Philipse, Sleepy Hollow Haven, Tappan Bay and all its beautiful 
surroundings, was chosen long ago by the illustrious author of tlie 
"Sketch-Book," as his final resting-place. Forty years ago, in Birming- 
ham, three thousand miles away from the spot where his remains now 
repose, and long before he even dreamed of converting "Wolfert's Boost 
into Sunnyside, he wrote thus concerning Sleepy Hollow, in his introduc- 
tion to the legend : — 

"Not far from this village [Tarry town], perhaps about two miles, 
there is a little valley, or rather a lap of land, among high hills, which is 
one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides 
through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the 
occasional whistle of a quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the 

only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquillity If 

ever I should wish for a retreat, whither I might steal from the world 
and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled 
life, I know of none more promising than this little valley." 

( When^more than a dozen years ago,^he Tarrytown Cemetery was laid 
out, Mr. Irving chose the plot of ground where his remains now lie, for 
his family burial-place. A few years later, when the contents of the 
grave and vaults in the burial-ground of the "Brick Church" in New 
York, were removed, the remains of his family were taken to this spot 
and interred.^ A gentleman who accompanied me to the grave, super- 
intended the removal. Mr. Irving had directed the remains to be so 
disposed as to allow himself to lie by the side of his mother. And when 
the burial was performed, the good old man stood thoughtfully for awhile, 
leaning against a tree, and looking into his mother's grave, as it was 
slowly filled with the earth. Then covering his face with his hands he 
wept as tenderly as a young child, f According to his desire he now rests 
by the side of that mother, whom he loved dearly ; and at his own left 
hand is reserved a space for his only surviving brother. General Ebenezer 
Irving, ten years his senior, who yet (18G6) resides at Sunnyside at the 



age of about ninety-four years, j 



oK 



(^■jpf\ 



^^ 



326 



THE HUDSON. 



f The remains of Mr. Irving's old Scotch nurse were, at his request, 
buried in the same grave with his mother. Of this faithful woman Mr. 
Irving once said, — "I remember General Washington perfectly. There 
was some occasion when he appeared in a public procession ; my nurse, 
a good old Scotch woman, was very anxious for me to see him, and held 
me up in her arms as he rode past. This, however, did not satisfy her ; 
so the next day, when walking with me in Broadway, she espied him in 
a shop ; she seized my hand, and darting in, exclaimed in her bland 
Scotch, — ' Please your excellency, here's a bairn that's called after ye ! ' 
General Washington then turned his benevolent face full upon me, smiled, 
laid his hand upon my head, and gave me his blessing, which," added 
Mr. Irving, "I have reason to believe has attended me through life. I 
was but five years old, yet I can feel that hand upon- my head even now." 
Mr. Irving's last and greatest literary work was an elaborate life of 
Washington, in five octavo volumes.^ 

We have observed that the Fo-can-ie-co, flowing through Sleepy 
Hollow, spreads out into a pretty little lake above an ancient and 
picturesque dam, near the almost as ancient church. This little lake 
extends back almost to the bridge in the dark weird glen, and furnishes 
motive power to a very ancient mill that stands close by Phjlipse Castle, 
as the more ancient manor-house of the family was called. >iie first lord 
. jof an extensive domain is— thi«- -vieinity, purchased from the Sachem 
^ Goharius, in 1680, and which was confirmed by royal patent the same 
year, was a descendant of the ancient- Yiscounts Felyps, of Bohemia, who 
took an active part in favour of John Huss and Jerome of Prague. Here, 
at the mouth of the Po-can-te-co, he erected a strong stone house, with 
port and loop holes for cannon and musketry, and also a mill, about the 
year 1683. Because of its heavy ordnance, it was called Castle PhilipseJ 
At that time the extensive marsh and meadow land between it and the 
present railway was a fine bay, and quite large vessels bore freight to 
and from the mill. CSei'e, and at the lower manor-house at Yonkers, the 
lords of Philipse's Manor lived in a sort of feudal state for almost a 
century, enjoying exclusive social and political privileges. The proprietor 
in possession when the war for independence broke out, espoused the cause 
of the crown. His estates were confiscated, and a relative of the family, 



THE HUDSON, 



327 



Gei-ardus Beekman, became the purchaser of the castle and many broad 
acres adjoining it. In that family it remained until the spring of 1860 
(about three quarters of a century), when Mr. StormJ the present 
proprietor, purchased it^ Beekman made a large addition to the Castle. 
In our little picture it is seen as it appeared in the time of the Philipses. 
In the basement wall, near the rear of the building, may be seen a port- 
hole in which the muzzle of a cannon was seen for full half a century, as 




PIIILIPSE'S MILL-DAM. 



a menace to any hostile intruders who might come up Po-can-tc-co Bay, 
which is now filled with earth, and is a fine marsh meadow. 

Upon an eminence eastward of Philipse Castle and the ancient church, 
whose base is Avashed by the Po-can-te-co, is Irving Park, a domain of 
about one hundred acres, which was laid out by Charles 11. Lyon, Esq., 
for the purpose of villa sites, that should have all the advantages of highly 



328 



THE HUDSON. 



ornamented grounds, pleasant neighbourhood, retirement, and extensive 
and varied views of a beautiful country, at a moderate expense. From 
this hill, and its river slopes, comprehensive views may be had of some of 
the most charming scenery of the lower Hudson. Prom its summit, 
overlooking Sleepy Hollow, the eye commands a sweep of the Hudson 
from New York to the Highlands, a distance of fifty miles, and views in 
five or six counties in the States of New York and New Jersey. From the 
veranda of one of the cottages in the park, most charming glimpses may 




PillLIPSE CASTLE. 



be obtained of portions of the village of Tarrytown,-" near, with its whart 
and railway station ; and of the Palisades below Piermont, the village of 
Piermont and its pier jutting into the Hudson a mile from the shore, the 
village of Pockland (formerly Snedcn's Landing), and the intervening 



* The natives called this place A-Up-conck, or Place of Elms, that tree having been abundant thei-e 
in early times, and still ilourishes. The Dutch called it Terwen Dorp, or Wheat Town, because that 
cereal gi-ew luxuriantly upon the Greenburgh Hills and valleys around. As usual, the English retained 
a part of the Dutch naine, and called it Terwe Towti, from which is derived the modern pronunciation, 
Tarrj town. In the legend of " Sleepy Hollow," Mr. Irving says,—" The name was given, we are told, 
in former days by the good housewives of the adjacent co\intry, from the inveterate propensity of their 
husbands to linger about the village taverns on market days." So they called it Tarrytowu. 



THE HUDSON. 



329 



river with its numerous water-craft. Our little picture of that scene 
gives some idea of the delights of a residence within Irving Park, afforded 
by broad views of nature in its lovely aspects, and the teeming commerce 
of a great river. Besides these attractions there are pleasant views of the 
Po-can-te-co, as it dashes through Sleepy Hollow in swift rapids and 
sparkling cascades, from various portions of the park. And all of these, 




with the pleasant roads and paths, belong to the owners of dwellings 
within the park. The proprietor of an acre of ground and his family may 
take their morning walk or evening drive through miles of varied scenery, 
without going into the public road, and with the agreeable consciousness 
of being on their own premises, 
f Soon after leaving the Po-can-te-co, on the way towards Tarrytown, a 

TJ V 



330 



THE HUDSON. 



fine monument of white Westchester marble, about twenty-five feet in 
height, is seen at the side of the highway, and on the margin of a little 
stream called Andre's Brook. It is surrounded by an iron railing, and 
upon a tablet next to the road is the following inscription, which explains 
the object of the monument : — 

" On this spot, the 22nd day of September, 1780, the spy, Major.John 




VIEM- ON THE rO-CAN-TE-CO FBOM IRVING PARK. 



Andre, Adjutant- general of the British army, was captured by John 
Paulding, David AVilliams, and Isaac Van "Wart, all natives of this county. 
History has told the rest. 

"The people of "Westchester County have erected this Monument, as 
well to commemorate a great event as to testify their high estimation of 
that integrity and patriotism which, rejecting every temptation, rescued 



THE HUDSON. 331 



the United States from most imminent peril, by baffling ihe arts of a Spy 
and the plots of a Traitor. Dedicated October 7, 1853J^ 

The land on which this monument stands was given for the purpose, by 
William Taylor, a coloured man, who lives in a neat cottage close by, 
surrounded by ornamented grounds, through which flows Andre's Brook. 
Hon. Henry J. Raymond, editor of the JS^eio Yorlc Baihj Times, addressed 




MONUMKNT AT TAEKYTOW: 



the multitude on the occasion of the dedication. (Monuments of white 
marble have been erected to the memory of two of the captors of Andre, 
over their respective remains. That to Paulding is in the burial-ground 
of St. Peter's Church, near Peek's Kill. It was erected by the corporation^ 
of the city of New York, as "a memorial sacred to public gkatitude."^ 
William Paulding, then mayor of New York, addressed the assembled 



332 THE HUDSON. 



citizens on the occasion of its dedication, November 22, 1827. [The 
monument to the memory of Yan Wart is over his remains in ihe 
Greenburgh Presbyterian Church, near the lovely Neperan river, a few 
miles from Tarrytown. It was dedicated on the 11th of June, 18293^hcn 
the assembled citizens were addressed by General Aaron Ward, of Sing 
Sing. The monument was erected by the citizens of Westchester County. 
(The remains of Williams are at Livingstonville, Schoharie County; J no 
monument has yet been erected over them. -^ 

"History has told the rest," says the inscription upon the monument. 
In the next Chapter we will observe what history says. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

|E have already observed the progress of Arnold's 

treason, from, its inception to his conference with 

Andre at the house of Joshua Hett Smith. There 

we left them, Andre being in possession of sundry 

valuable papers, revealing the condition of the post 

to be surrendered, and a pass. He remained alone with his 

troubled thoughts all day. The Vulture, as we have seen, had 

dropped down the river, out of sight, in consequence of a 

cannonade from a small piece of ordnance upon the extremity of 

Teller's Point, sent there for the purpose by Colonel Henry 

Livingston, who was in command at Yerplanck's Point, a few miles 

above. 

^n the afternoon Andre solicited Smith to take him back to the Vulture. 
Smith refused, with the false plea of illness — but he offered to travel holf 
the night with the adjutant-general if he would take the land route. 
There was no alternative, and Andre was compelled to yield to the force 
of circumstances. He consented to cross the King's Ferry (from Stony to 
Yerplanck's Point), and make his way back to Xew York by land. He 
exchanged his military coat for a citizen's dress, placed the papers re- 
ceived from Arnold in his stockings under his feet, and at a little 
before sunset on the evening of the 22nd of September, accompanied by 
Smith and a negro servant, all mounted, made his way towards King's 
Ferry, bearing the following pass, in the event of his being challenged 
within the American lines : — 

^^Head-quarters, Robinson'' s House, Sej)t. 22, 1780. 

" Permit Mr. John Anderson to pass the Guards to the White Plains, 
or below, if he chooses, he being on public business by my direction. 

"]i. Aknold, JIdJor- General.^ y 



334 THE HUDSON. 



At twilight they passed through the works at Verplanck's Point, unsus- 
pected, and then turned their faces towards the White Phxins, the interior 
route to New York, f Andre was moody and silent. He had disobeyed 
the orders of his commander by receiving papers, and was involuntarily 
a spy, in every sense of the word, within the enemy's lines. Eight miles 
from Yerplanck's they were hailed by a sentinel. Arnold's pass was 
presented, and the travellers were about to pass on, when the officer on 
duty advised them to remain until morning, because of dangers on the 
road. After much persuasion, Andre consented to remain, but passed a 
sleepless night.^ At an early hour the party were in the saddle, and at 
Pine's Bridge over the Crotou, Andre, with a lighter heart, parted com- 
pany with Smith and his servant^having been assured that he was then 
upon the neutral ground, beyond the reach of the American patrolling 
parties. 

Andre had been warned to avoid the Cow Boys. These were bands of 
Tory marauders who infested the neutral ground. He was told that they 
were more numerous upon the Tarrytown road than that which led to the 
"White Plains. As these were friends of the British, he resolved to travel 
the Tarrytown or river road. He felt assured that if he should fall into 
the hands of the Cow Boys, he would be taken by them to New York, his 
destination. This change of route was his fatal mistake. 

/On the morning when Andre crossed Pine's Bridge, a little band of 
seven volunteers went out near Tarrytown to prevent the Cow Boys 
driving the cattle to New York, and to arrest any suspicious travellers 
upon the highway. Three of these — Paulding, Yan "Wart, and "Williams — 
were under the shade of a clump of trees, near a spring on the borders of 
the stream just mentioned, and now known by the name of Andre's 
Brook, playing cards, when a stranger appeared on horseback, a short 
distance up the road, His dress and manner were different from ordinary 
travellers seen in that vicinity, and they determined to step out and 
question him. Paulding had lately escaped from captivity in New York, 
in the dress of a German Yager, the mercenaries in the employment of 
the British ; and on seeing him, Andre, thereby deceived, exclaimed, 
" Thank God ! I am once more among friends." But Paulding presented 
his musket, and ordered him to stop.) "Gentlemen," said Andre, "I 



THE HUDSON. 335 



hope you belong to our party?" "What party?" asked Paulding-. 
"The Lower Party" (meaning the British), Andre replied. "I do," 
said Paulding; when Andre said, "I am a British officer, out in the 
country on particular business, and I hope you will not detain me a 
minute." Paulding told him to dismount, when Andre, conscious of his 
mistake, exclaimed, "My God! I must do anything to get along ; " and 
with a forced good-humour, pulled out General Arnold's pass. Still they 
insisted upon his dismounting, when he warned them not to detain him, 
as he was on public business for the General. They were inflexible. 
They said there were many bad people on the road, and they did not 
know but he might be one of them. (He dismounted, when they took 
him into a thicket, and searched him J They found nothing to confirm 
their suspicions that he was not what he represented himself to be. They 
then ordered him to pull off his boots, which he did without hesitation, 
and they were about to allow him to dress himself, when they observed 
something in his stockings under his feet. When these were removed 
they discovered the papers which Arnold had put in his possession, 
finding himself detected, he offered them bribes to let him go. They 
refused ; and he was conducted to the nearest American post, and delivered 
to a commanding oflScer. That officer, with strange obtuseness of percep- 
tion, was about to send the prisoner to General Arnold with a letter 
detailing the circumstances of his arrest, when Major Tallmadge, a blight 
and vigilant officer, protested against the measure, and expressed his 
suspicions of Arnold's fidelity. But Jamieson, the commander, only half 
yielded. He detained the prisoner, but sent the letter to Arnold. That 
was the one which the traitor received while at breakfast at Beverly 
(Robinson's House), and which caused his precipitate flight to the Vulture. 
The circumstances of that flight have already been narrated. ,' 

Andre wrote a letter to Washington, briefly but frankly detailing the 
events of his mission, and concluded, after relating how he was conducted 
to Smith's House, and changed his clothes, by saying, "Thus, as I have 
had the honour to relate, was I betrayed (being adjutant- general of the 
British army) into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise within 
yo>n? posts." 
\Washington ordered Andre to be sent first to AVest Point, and then to 



336 



THE HUDSON. 



Tappan, an inland liamlet on the west side of the Hudson opposite Tarry- 
town, then the head-quarters of the American army j There, at his own 
quarters, he summoned a board of general officers on the 29th of Septem- 
ber, and ordered them to examine into the case of Major Andre,"~and 
report the result. He also directed them to give their opinion as to the 
light in which the prisoner ought to be regarded, and the punishment 
that should be inflicted. C Andre was arraigned before them, on the same 
day, in the church not far from "Washington's quarters. He made to 




WASHINGTON S IIKAD-tiUAETEKS AT TAPPAN. 



them the same truthful statement of facts which he gave in his letter to 
Washington, and remarked, "I leave them to operate with the board, 
persuaded that you will do me justice." He was remanded to prison ; 
and after long and careful deliberation, the board reported " That Major 
Andre, adjutant-general of the British army, ought to be considered as a 
spy from the enemy, and that agreeably to ^he law and usage of nations, 



) th^ 



it i^ their opinion he ought to suffer death. 

/Washington approved the sentence on the 30th, and ordered his execu- 
tion the next day at five o'clock in the afternoon. The youth, candour, 



THE HUDSON. 337 



gentleness, and honourable bearing of the prisoner made a deep impression 
on the court and the commander-in-chief. Had their decision been in 
coilsonance with their feelings instead of their judgments and the stern 
necessities of war, he would never have suffered death. There was a 
general desire on the part of the Americans to save him. The only mode 
was to exchange him for Arnold, and hold the traitor responsible for all 
the acts of his victim. *^ Sir Henry Clinton was a man of nice honour, and 
would not be likely to exhibit such bad faith towards Arnold, even to 
save his beloved adjutant-general. [Nor would Washington make such a 
proposition. He, however, respited the prisoner for a day, and gave others 
an opportunity to lay an informal proposition of that kind before Clinton. 
A subaltern went to the nearest British outpost with a letter from AVash- 
ington to Clinton, containing the official proceedings of the court-martial, 
and Andre's letter to the Ameiican commander. That subaltern, as in- 
structed, informed the messenger who was to bear the packet to Sir Henry, 
that he believed Andre might be exchanged for Arnold. This was com- 
municated to Sir Henry. He refased compliance, but sent a general 
officer up to the borders of the neutral ground, to confer with one from 
tlie American camp on the subject of the innocence of Major Andre. 
General Greene, the president of the court, met General Robertson, the 
commissioner from Clinton, at Dobbs' Terry. The conference was fruitless 
of results favourable to Andre. ) 

rThe unfortunate young man was not disturbed by the fear of death, but 
the manner was a subject of great solicitude to him. He wrote a touching 
letter to Washington, asking to die the death of a soldier, and not that of 
a spy. Again the stern rules of war interposed. The manner of death 
must be according to the character given him by the sentence. All hearts 
were powerfully stirred by sympathy for him. The eqiiifi/ of that sentence 
was not questioned by military men ; and yet, only inexorable expediency 
at that hour Avlien the Eepublican cause seemed in the greatest peril, 
caused the execution of the sentence in his case. The sacrifice had to be 
made for the public good, and the prisoner was hung as a spy at Tappan 
at noon on the 2nd of October, 1780. 

It is said that Washington never saw Major Andre, having avoided 
a personal interview with him from the beginning, \ Unwilling to give 

X X 



338 



THE HUDSON. 



him unnecessary pain, Washington did not reply to his letter asking for 
the death of a soldier, and the unhappy prisoner was not certain what 
was to be the manner of his execution, until he was led to the gallows. 
The lines of Miss Anne Seward, Andre's friend, commencing, 

" O Washington I I thought Ihee great and good, 
Nor knew thy Kero-thirst for guiltless blood, 
.Severe to use the power that fortune gave, 
Thou cool, determined murderer of the brave I" 

were unjust, for he sincerely commiserated the fate of the prisoner, and 
would have made every proper sacrifice to save him. 




Hw 



ANUHES PEN AND INK SKETCil. 



Major Andre Avas an accomplished young man, and a clever amateur 
artist. He was perfectly composed from the time that his fate was made 
known to him. On the day fixed for his execution, he sketched with pen 
and ink a likeness of himself sitting at a table, and gave it to the officer 
of his guard, who had been kind to him. It is preserved in the Trumbull 
Gallery of pictures, at Yale College, in Connecticut. 

Major Andre was buried at the place of his execution. In 1832, his 
remains were removed, under instructions of his lloyal Highness the Duke 



THE HUDSON. 



339 



of York, by James Buchanan, the British consul at New York, and de- 
posited in a grave near a monument in AYestminster Abbey, erected by 
his king not long after his death. It is a mural monument, in the fonn 
of a sarcophagus, standing on a pedestal, j It is surmounted by Britannia 
and her lion. On the fi'ont of the sarcophagus is a basso-relievo, in Tvhicli 
is represented General Washington and his officers in a tent at the niomont 




S'DEK'S MONUMENT. 



when he received the report of the court of inquiry. At the same time a 
messenger is seen with a flag, bearing a letter from Andre to Washington. 
On the opposite side is a guard of Continental soldiers, and the tree on 
which Andre was hung. Two men are preparing the prisoner for execu- 
tion, in the centre of this design. At the foot of the tree sit Mercy and 



340 THE HUDSON. 



Innocence bewailing his fate. Upon a panel of the pedestal is the fol. 
lowing inscription : — " Sacred to the memory of Major John Andee, 
who, raised by his merit at an early period of his life to the rank of 
Adjutant- General of the British forces in America, and employed in an 
important but hazardous enterprise, fell a sacrifice to his zeal for his king 
and country, on the 2nd of October, a.d. 1780, universally beloved and 
esteemed by the army in which he served, and lamented even by his foes. 
His gracious sovereign, King George the Thikd, has caused this monu- 
ment to be erected." On the base is a record of the removal of his 
remains from the banks of the Hudson to their final resting-place near 
the banks of the Thames. Such is the sad story, in brief outline, of the 
closing days of the accomplished Andi-e's life. Arnold, the traitor, was 
despised even by those who accepted his treason for purposes of state ; and 
his hand never afterwards touched the palm of an honourable Englishman. 
In his own country, he had ever occupied the " bad eminence " of arch 
traitor, until the beginning of the year 1861 ; others now bear the 
palm. 

Upon a high and fertile promontory below Tarrytown, may be seen one 
of the finest and purest specimens of the Pointed Tudor style of domestic 
architecture in the United States, the residence of Philip R. Paulding, Esq., 
and called Paulding Manor. It was built in 1840. Its walls are of the 
Mount Pleasant or Sing Sing marble. The whole outline, ground and 
sky, is exceedingly picturesque, there being gables, towers, turrets, and 
pinnacles. There is also a great variety of windows decorated with 
mullions and tracery ; and at one wing is a Port Cochere, or covered 
entrance for carriages. It has a broad arcaded piazza, affording shade 
and shelter for promenading. The interior is admirably arranged for 
convenience and artistic effect. The drawing-room is a spacious apart- 
ment, occupying the whole of the south wing. It has a high ceiling, 
richly groin-arched, with fan tracery or diverging ribs, springing from 
and supported by columnar shafts. The ceilings of all the apartments of 
the first story are highly elegant in decoration. " That of the dining- 
room," says Mr. Downing, "is concavo-convex in shape, with diverging 
ribs 'and ramified tracery springing from corbels in the angles, the centre 
being occupied by a pendant. In the saloon the ribbed ceiling forms two 



THE HUDSON. 



341 



inclined planes. The floor of the second story has a much larger area 
than that of the first, as the rooms in the former project over the open 
portals of the latter. The spacious library, over the western portal, 
lighted by a lofty window, is the finest apartment of this story, with its 
carved foliated timber roof rising in the centre to twenty-five feet." The 
dimensions of this room are thirty-seven by eighteen feet, including an 
organ gallery. Ever since its erection, Paulding ]\[anor has been the 
most conspicuous dwelling to be seen by the eye of the voyager on the 
Lower Hudson. 




(About three miles below Tarrytown is Sunnyside, the residence of the 
late Washington Irving. It is reached from the public road by a winding 
carriage-way that passes here through rich pastures and pleasant wood- 
lands, and then along the margin of a dell through which runs a pleasant 
brook, reminding one of the merry laughter of children as it dances away 
riverward, and leaps, in beautiful cascades and rapids, into a little bay a 
few yards from the cottage of Sunnyside. There, more than fifteen years 
ago, I visited the dear old man whom the world loved so well, and who 



34^ 



THE HUDSON. 



so lately was laid beneath the greensward on the margin of Sleepy Hollow, 
made classic by his genius. )^ Then I made the sketch of Sunnyside here 
presented to the reader. It was a soft, delicious day in June, when the 
trees were in full leaf and the birds in full song. I had left the railway- 
cars a fourth of a mile below where the germ of a village had just ap- 
peared, and strolled along the iron road to a stile, over which I climbed. 




and ascended the bank by a pleasant path to the shadow of a fine old 
cedar, not far from the entrance gate. There I rested, and sketched the 
quaint cottage half shrouded in English ivy. Its master soon appeared 
in the porch, with a little fair-haired boy whom he led to the river bank 
in search of daisies and buttercups. It was a pleasant picture, and yet 
there was a cloud-shadow resting upon it. (jlis best eai'thly affections 



THE HUDSON. 343 



had been buried, long years before, in the gi'ave with a sweet young lady 
who had promised to become his bride. Death interposed between the 
betrothal and the appointed nuptials. He remained faithful to that first 
love. Throughout all the vicissitudes of a long life, in society and in 
solitude, in his native land and in foreign countries, on the stormy ocean 
and in the repose of quiet homes, he had borne her miniature in his 
bosom in a plain golden case, and upon his table, for daily use, always 
lay a small Bible, with the name of his lost one, in the delicate hand- 
writing of a female, upon the title-page. As I looked upon that good 
man of gentle, loving nature, a bachelor of sixty-five, I thought of his 
exquisite picture of a true woman, in his charming little story of " The 
Wife," and wondered whether his own experience had not been in 
accordance with the following beautiful passage in his ' ' Newstead 
Abbey," Jin which he says: — "An early, innocent, and unfortunate 
passion, however fruitful of pain it may be to the man, is a lasting 
advantage to the poet. It is a well of sweet and bitter fancies, of 
refined and gentle sentiments, of elevated and ennobling thoughts, shut 
up in the deep recesses of the heart, keeping it green amidst the withering 
blights of the world, and by its casual gushings and overflowings, 
recalling at times all the freshness, and innocence, and enthusiasm of 
youthful days." 
(l visited Sunnyside again only a fortnight before the death of 
Mr. Irving. I found him in his study, a small, quiet room, lighted by 
two delicately curtained windows, one of which is seen nearest the porch, 
in our little sketch of the mansion. From that window he could see far 
down the river ; from the other, overhung with ivy, he looked out upon 
the lawn and the carriage-way from the lane. In a curtained recess was 
a lounge with cushions, and books on every side. A large easy-chair, 
and two or three others, a writing-table with many drawers, shelves 
filled with books, three small pictures, and two neat bronze candelabra, 
completed the furniture of the room. It was warmed by an open grate 
of coals in a black variegated marble chimney-piece. Over this were the 
three small pictures. The larger represents "A literary party at Sir 
Joshua Reynolds's." The other two were spirited little pen-and-ink 
sketches, with a little colour — illustrative of scenes in one of the earlier 



344 



THE HUDSON. 



of Mr. Irving's works — ''Knickerbocker's History of New York" — 
which he picked up in London many years ago. One represented 
Stuyvesant confronting Eisingh, the Swedish governor; the other, 
Stuyvesant's wrath in council.) 

Mr. Irving was in feeble health, but hopeful of speedy convalescence. 
He expressed his gratitude because his strength and life had been spared 




IKVING'S STtTDY. 



until he completed the greatest of all his works, his " Life of 
"Washington." "I have laid aside my pen for ever," he said; "my 
work is finished, and now I intend to rest." He was then seven years 
past the allotted age of man, yet his mental energy seemed unimpaired, 
and his genial good-humour was continually apparent. I took the first 
course of dinner with him, Avhcn I was compelled to leave to be in time 



THE HUDSON. 345 



for the next train of cars that would convey me home. He arose from 
the table, and passed into the little drawing-room with me. At the door 
he took my hand in both of his, and with a pleasant smile said, " I wish 
you success in all your undertakings. God bless you." 

It was the last day of the "Indian summer," in 1859, a soft, balmy, 
glorious day in the middle of Kovember. The setting sun was sending a 
blaze of red light across the bosom of Tappan Bay, when I left the porch 
and followed the winding path down the bank to the railway. There 
was peacefulness in the aspect of all nature at that hour, and I left 
Sunny side, feeling sensibly the influence of a good man's blessing. Only 
a fortnight afterwards, on a dark, stormy evening, I took up a newspaper 
at an inn in a small village of the Valley of the Upper Hudson, and read 
the startling announcement, ^^ Death of Washington In-ing." I felt as it 
a near and dear friend had been snatched away for ever. I was too far 
from home to be at the funeral, but oue of my family, very dear to me, 
was in the crowd of sincere mourners at his grave, on the borders of 
Sleepy Hollow. The day was a lovely one on the verge of winter, and 
thousands stood reverently around, on that sunny slope, while the earth 
Avas cast upon the coffin and the preacher uttered the solemn words, 
" Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Few men ever went to 
the tomb lamented by more sincere friends. From many a pulpit his 
name was spoken with reverence. Literary and other societies through- 
out the land expressed their sorrow and respect. A thousand pens wrote 
eulogies for the press, and Bryant, the poet, his life-long friend, pro- 
nounced an impressive funeral oration not long afterwards, at the request 
of the New York Historical Society, of which Mr. Irving was a member. 

I visited Sunnyside again in May, 1860, and after drinking at the 
mysterious spring,* strolled along the brook at the mouth of the glen, 
where it comes down in cascades before entering the once beautiful little 
bay, now cut ofl' from free union with the river by the railway. The 



* This spring is at the foot of the bank on the very brink of the river. "Tradition declares," says 
Mr. Irvmg in his admirable story of " Wolfert's Boost," •' that it was smuggled over from Holland in 
a churn by Femmelie Van Blarcom, wife of Gooseu Garrett Van Blarcom, one of the first settlers, and 
that -she took it up by night, unknown to her husband, from beside their farm-house near Rotterdam ; 
being sure she should find no water equal to it in the new country— and she was right." 

Y Y 



346 



THE HUDSON. 



channel was fuirof crystal water. The tender foliage was casting delicate 
shadows where, at this time, there is half twilight under the umbrageous 
branches, and the trees arc full of warblers. It is a charming spot, and is 




lUL LKOUK \i 



consecra.ted by many memories of Irving and his friends who frequented 
this romantic little dell when the summer sun was at meridian. 

After sketching the brook at the cascades, I climbed its banks, crossed 



THE HUDSON. 



347 



the lane, and wandered along a shaded path by a gardener's cottage to a 
hollow in the hills, filled with water, in which a bevy of ducks were 
sporting. (This pond, which Mr. Irving playfully called his " Mediter- 




THE PONP, OR "MEDITERRANEAN SEA." 



ranean Sea," was made by damming the stream, and thus a pretty 
cascade at its outlet was formed. It is in the shape of the " palm leaf" 
that comes from the loom. On one side a wooded hill stretches down to 



348 THE HUDSON. 



it abruptly, leaving only space enough for a path, and on others it 
washes the feet of gentle grassy slopes. This is one of the many 
charmiag pictures to be found in the landscape of Sunnyside. After 
strolling along the pathways in various directions, sometimes finding 
myself upon the domains of the neighbours of Sunnyside (for no fence or 
hedge barriers exist between them), I made my way back to the cottage, 
where (the eldest and only surviving brother of Mr. Irving, and his 
daughters, reside. These daughters were always as children to the late 
occupant, and by their affection and domestic skill they made his home a 
delightful one to himself and friends. ^ But the chief light of that 
dwelling is removed, and there are shado'ws at Sunnyside that fall darkly 
upon the visitor who remembers the sunshine of its former days, for, as 
his friend Tuekerman wrote on the day after the funeral, — 

" lie whose fancy wove a«i)ell 
As lasting as the scene is fan-, 
And made the mountain, stream, and dell. 
His own dream-life for ever share ; 

"He who with England's liousehold's grace, 
And with the brave romance of Sijain. 
Tradition's lore and Nature's face, 
Imbued his visionary brain : 

" Mused in Granada's old arcade 

As gu^h'd the Moorish fount at noon. 

With the last minstrel thoughtful stray'd, 

To ruin'd shrines beneath the moon ; 

"And breathed the tenderness and wit 
Thus garner'd, in expression pure, 
As now his thoughts with humour flit. 
And now to pathos wisely lure ; 

" Who traced with sympathetic hand 
Our peerless chieftain's high career. 
His life that gladden'd all the land. 
And blest a home— is ended here !" 

(There was a fascination about Mr. Irving that drew every living 
creature towards him. His personal character, like his writings, was 
distinguished by extreme modesty, sweetness, and simplicity. ''He was 
never willing to set forth his own pretensions," wrote a friend, after his 
death; "he was willing to leave to the public the care of his literary 



THE HUDSON. 349 



reputation. He had no taste for controversy of any sort ; his manners 
were mild, and his conversation, in the sockty of those with whom he 
was intimate, was most genial and playful." ) James Russell Lowell has, 
given the following admirable outline of his character : — ■ 

'■ But allow mo to speak wliat I liumbly feel,— 
To a true poet-heart add the fun of Dick Steele 
Throw in all of Addison, mmiis the chill ; 
With the whole of that partnership's stock and good- will, 
Mix well, and while stirring, hum o'er as a spell, 
The fine old English Gentleman ; simmer it well. 
Sweeten .just to j'our own private liking, then strain. 
That only the finest and purest remain ; 
Let it stand out of doors till a soul it receives 
From the warm, lazy sun loitering down through green leaves, 
And you'll find a choice nature, not wholly deserving 
A name either English or Yankee— just Irving." 

I must remember that I am not writing an eulogy of M'r. -Irving, but 
only giving a few outlines with pen and pencil of his late home on the 
banks of the Hudson. Around that home sweetest memories will ever 
cluster, and the pilgrim to Sunnyside will rejoice to honour those who 
made that home so delightful to their idol, and who justly find a place 
in the sunny recollections of the departed. 

Around that cottage, and the adjacent lands and waters, Irving's genius 
has cast an atmosphere of romance, f The old Dutch house — one of the 
oldest in all that region — out of whuJh grew that quaint cottage, was a 
part of the veritable "Wolfert's Roost — the very dwelling wherein occurred 
Katrina Yan Tassel's memorable quilting frolic, that terminated so 
disastrously to Ichabod Crane, in his midnight race with the Headless 
Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. There, too, the veracious Dutch historian, 
Diedrich Knickerbocker, domiciled while he was deciphering the precious 
documents found there, " which, like the lost books of Livy, had baffled 
the research of former historians. "J But its appearance had sadly changed 
when it was purchased by Mr. Trving, about thirty years ago, and was 
by him restored to the original form of the Eoost, which he describes as 
" a little, old-fashioned stone mansion, all made up of gable ends, and as 
full of angles and corners as an old cocked hat. It is said, in fact," 
continues Mr. Irving, "to have been modelled after the cocked hat of 
Peter the Headstrong, as the Escurial was mo'delled after the gridiron of 



350 



THE HUDSON. 



the blessed St. Lawrence." n:t was built, the chronicler tells us, by 
Wolfert Acker, a privy councillor of Peter Stuyvesant, "a worthy, but 
ill-starred man, whose aim through life had been to live in peace and 
quiet." He sadly failed. "It was his doom, in fact, to meet a head 
wind at every turn, and be kept in a constant fume and fret by the 
perverseness of mankind. Had he served on a modern jury, he would 
have been sure to have eleven unreasonable men opposed to him." He 
retired in disijust to this then wilderness, built the gabled house, and 




wolfeet's Hoosr when irvjng prEciiASF 



"inscribed over llio door (his teeth clenched at the time) his favourite 
Dutch motto, 'Lust in Rust' (pleasure in quiet). Tlie mansion was 
thence culled Wolfert's Rust (Wolfert's Rest), but by the uneducated, 
who did not understand Dutch, "Wolfert's Roost.'') It passed into the 
hands of Jacob Yan Tassel, a valiant Dutchman, who espoused the cause 
of the Republicans. The hostile ships of the British were often seen in 
Tappan Bay, in front of the Roost, and Cow Boys infested the land 
thereabout. Van Tassel had much trouble : his house was finally 
plundered and burnt, and he was carried a prisoner to New York. When 



THE HUDSON. 351 



the war was over, he rebuilt the Roost, but in more modest style, as seen 
in our sketch. "The Indian spring" — the one brought from Rotterdam 
— "still welled up at the bottom of*the green bank; and the wild 
brook, wild as evei', came babbling down the ravine, and threw itself 
into the little cove where of yore the water-guard harboured their 
whale-boats." 

The "water-guard" was an aquatic corps, in -the pay of the revolu- 
tionary government, organised to range the waters of the Hudson, and 
keep watch upon the movements of the British. The Roost, according 
to the chronicler, was one of the lurking-places of this band, and Van 
Tassel was one of their best friends. He was, moreover, fond of warring 
upon his " own hook." He possessed a famous " goose-gun," that would 
send its shot half-way across Tappan Bay. "When the belligerent 
feeling was strong upon Jacob," Fays the chronicler of the Roost, "he 
would take down his gun, sally forth alone, and prowl along shore, 
dodging behind rocks and trees, watching for hours together any ship or 
galley at anchor or becalmed. So sure as a boat approached the shore, 
bang ! went the great goose-gun, sending on board a shower of slugs and 
buck shot." 

On one occasion, Jacob and some fellow bush-fighters peppered a 
British transport that had run aground. "This," says the chronicler, 
" was the last of Jacob's triumphs ; he fared like some heroic spider that 
has unwittingly ensnared a hornet, to the utter ruin of its web. It was 
not long after the above exploit that he fell into the hands of the enemy, 
in the course of one of his forays, and was carried away prisoner to New 
York. The Roost itself, as a pestilent rebel nest, was marked out for 
signal punishment. The cock of the Roost being captive, there was none 
to garrison it but his stout-hearted spouse, his redoubtable sister, Notchie 
Van Wurmer, and "Dinah, a strapping negro wench. An armed vessel 
came to anchor in front ; a boat full of men pulled to shore. The 
garrison flew to arms, that is to say, to mops, broomsticks, shovels, 
tongs, and all kinds of domestic weapons, for, unluckily, the great piece 
of ordnance, the goose-gun, was absent with its owner. Above all, a 
vigorous defence was made with that most potent of female weapons, the 
tongue ; never did invaded hen-roost make a more vociferous outcry. It 



352 THE HUDSON. 



was all in vain ! The house was sacked and plundered, fire was set to 
each room, and in a few moments its blaze shed a baleful light over the 
Tappan Sea. The invaders therw pounced upon the blooming Laney Van 
Tassel, the beauty of the Eoost, and endeavoured to bear her off to the 
boat. But here was the real tug of war. The mother, the aunt, and the 
strapping negro wench, all flew to the rescue. The struggle continued 
down to the very water's edge, when a voice from the armed vessel at 
anchor ordered the spoilers to desist; they relinquished their prize, 
jumped into their boats, and pulled off, and the heroine of the Koost 
escaped with a mere rumpling of the feathers." 



V^fe 




CHAPTER XIX. 




m 



^' LOSE by Sunnysicle is one of those marvellous villages 
with which America abounds : it has sprung up like a 
mushroom, and bears the name of Irvington, in com- 
pliment to the late master of Sunnyside. A dozen 
years ago not a solitary house was there, excepting 
that of Mr, Dearman, the farmer who owned the land. Pier- 
mont, directly opposite, was then the sole eastern terminus of 
the great Xcw York and Erie Railway, and here seemed to be 
an eligible place for a village, as the Hudson River Railway 
was then almost completed. Mr. Dearman had one surveyed 
upon liis lands ; streets were marked out, village lots were measured and 
defined ; sales at enormous prices, which enriched the owner, were made, 
and now upon that farm, in pleasant cottages, surrounded by neat 
gardens, several hundred inhabitants are dwelling. One of the most 
picturesque of the station-houses upon the Hudson River Railway is 
there, and a ferry connects the village with Piermont. Morning and 
evening, when the trains depart for and arrive from Xew York, many 
handsome vehicles may be seen there. This all seems like the work of 
magic. Over this beautiful slope, where so few years ago the voyager 
upon the Hudson saw only woodlands and cultivated fields, is now a 
populous town. The owners arc chiefly business men of Xew York, 
whose counting rooms and parlours are within less than an hour of each 
other. 

/Less than a mile below Irvington, and about half way between that 
vHTagc and Dobbs's Eerry, is the beautiful estate of Xevis, the home and 
property of the Honourable James A. Hamilton, eldest surviving son of 
the celebrated General Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the 
republic of the United States. •"'•' It stands on the brow of the river slope, 



Nevis is the name of one of a group of the Antilles, where General Hamilton was born. 
Z Z 



354 



THE HUDSON. 



in the midst of a charming lawn, that extends from the highway to the 
Hudson, a distance of half a mile, and commands some of the finest and 
most extensive views of that portion of the river. The mansion is large, 
and its interior elegant. It presents many attractions to the lover of 
literature and art, aside from the delightful social atmosphere with 
which it is filled. There may be seen the library of General Hamilton, 
one of the choicest and most extensive in the country at the time of his 
death. There, too, may be seen a portrait of "Washington, by Stuart, 




painted for General Hamilton, in 1798, when, in expectation of a war 
with France, the United States organised a provisional government, and 
appointed him acting commanding general under the ex-president 
(Washington), who consented to be the chief. ) 

'^n the river bank of the Nevis estate is a charming little cottage, 
completely embowered, where Mr. Irving was a frequent and delighted 



i 



* From this point the Jraveller soutliward first obtains a good view of tlie Palisades on the west side 
of the river. 



THE HUDSON. 



355 



visitor. It is the summer residence of Mr. Schuyler (a grandson of 
General Schuyler), Mr. Hamilton's son-in-law. Near it is a more 
pretentious residence belonging to Mr. Blatchford, another son-in-law of 
the proprietor of " Nevis.'M Within call of these pleasant retreats is the 
superb residence of Mr. Cottinet, a wealthy New York merchant, built in 
French stylo, of Caen stone. This, in point of complete elegance, 




externally and internally, is doubtless superior to any other dwelling on 
the banks of the Hudson. The grounds about it are laid out with much 
taste, and exhibit many delightful landscape effects. 

Dobbs's Ferry, a considerable village, twenty-two miles from New 
York, was a place of some note a century ago ; but the town has been 
mostly built within the last fifteen years. The Indian name was Weec- 



I 



356 



THE HUDSON. 



ques-guch, signifying the place of the Bark Kettle. Its present name is 
from Dobbs, a Swede from the Delaware, one of the earliest settlers on 
Philipse's Manor. The village is seated pleasantly on the river front of 
the Greenburgh Hills, and is the place of summer residence for many New 
York families. Here active and important military operations occurred 
during the war for independence. There was no fighting here, hut in the 
movement of armies it was an important point. Upon the high hank, a 
little south-east from the railway station, a redoubt was built by the 




Li S 5 1 tKKi 



Americans at an early period of the war. From near that spot our little 
sketch was taken, whicli included the long pier at Pierraont, the village 
of Nyack, and the range of hills just below Haverstraw, off which the 
Vulture lay, and at the foot of which Arnold and Andre met. Several 
other redoubts were cast up in this vicinity ; these commanded the ferry 
to Paramus, afterwards Sneden's Landing, and now Rockland. 

Near Dobbs's Ferry the British rendezvoued, after the battle at White 
Plains, in October, 177G ; and at Hastings, a mile below, a British force 
of six thousand men, under Lord Cornwallis, crossed the river to Paramus, 



THE HUDSON. 357 



marched to the attack at Eort Lee, and then pursued the flying Americans 
under "Washington across New Jersey to the Delaware river. Here, in 
1777, a division of the American army, under General Lincoln, was 
encamped ; and here was the spot first appointed as the meeting-place of 
Andre and Arnold. Circumstances prevented the meeting, and it was 
postponed, as we have already observed. Here, in the mansion of Yan 
Brugh Livingston, General Greene met the chief of three commissioners 
from General Sir Henry Clinton, in conference concerning Major Andre. 




^cd- 



General Robertson was the chief, and he had strong hopes, by imparting 
information from General Clinton, to save the life of his young friend. 
Eeverly Robinson accompanied them as a witness. They went up in the 
Greyhound schooner, with a flag of truce, but only General Robertson was 
permitted to land. Greene met Robertson as a private gentleman, by 
permission of Washington, and not as an officer. He was willing to listen, 
but- the case of an acknowledged spy admitted of no discussion. The 
subject was freely talked over, and Greene bore from Robertson a verbal 
message to "Washington, and a long explanatory and threatening letter 



358 



THE HUDSON. 



from Arnold. No new facts bearing upon the case were presented, and 
nothing was offered that changed the minds of the court or the command- 
ing general. So the conference was fruitless. 

The Livingston mansion, owned by Stephen Archer, a Quaker, is 
preserved in its original form ; under its roof, in past times, many 
distinguished men have been sheltered. Washinston had his head- 




LIVINGSTON MANSION. 



4^' 



quarters there towards the close of the revolution ; and there, in November, 
1783, Washington, George Clinton, "the civil governor of the State of 
New York," and Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander, met to confer 
on the subject of prisoners, the loyalists, and the evacuation of the city of 
New York by the British forces. The former came down the river from 
Newburg, with their suites, in barges ; the latter, with his suite, came 



THE HUDSON. 



359 



up from ^cu- York in a frigate. Four companies of American lioht 
infantry performed the duties of a guard of honour on that occasion ° 
Opposite Dobbs's Periy and Hastings is the most picturesque portion of 




lU:-. 1>ALISAL.I 



the - Palisades," to which allusion has several times been made These 
are portions of a ridge of trap-rocks extending along the western shore of 



360 THE HUDSON. 



the Hudson from near Haverstraw almost to Hoboken, a distance of about 
thirty-five miles. Between Piermont and Hoboken, these rocks present, 
for a considerable distance, an uninterrupted, rude, columnar front, from 
300 to 500 feet in height. They form a mural escarpment, columnar in ap- 
pearance, yet not actually so in form. They have a steep slope of debris, 
which has been crumbling from the cliffs above, during long centuries, by 
the action of frost and the elements. The ridge is narrow, being in some 
places not more than three-fourths of a mile in width. It is really an 
enormous projecting trap-dyke. On the top and among the debris, in 
many places, is a thin growth of trees. On the western and southern 
sides of the range, the slope is gentle, and composed generally of rich soil 
covered with trees. Below Tappan it descends to a rich valley, through 
which a railway now passes. 

Yiewed from the river this range presents a forbidding aspect ; and little 
does the traveller dream of a fertile, smiling country at the back of this 
savage front. Several little valleys break through the range, and give 
glimpses of the hidden landscape beauties behind the great wall. In the 
bottoms of these the trap-dyke appears; so the valleys are only depressions 
in the range, not fractures. 

Several bluff's in the range exceed 400 feet in height. The most 
elevated of all is one nearly opposite Sing-Sing, which juts into the river 
like an enormous buttress, and is a prominent object from every point on 
the Hudson between New York and the Highlands. It rises 660 feet 
above tide-water. The Dutch named it Verdrietigh-Hoeclc — Grievous or 
Yexations Point or Angle — because in navigating the river they were apt 
to meet suddenly, off this point, adverse and sometimes cross winds, that 
gave them much vexation. The Palisades present a most remarkable 
feature in the scenery of the Lower Hudson. 

Yonkers is the name of a large and rapidly-growing village about four 
miles below Hastings, and seventeen from New York. Its recent growth 
and prosperity are almost wholly due to the Hudson River Hallway, which 
furnishes such travelling facilities and accommodations, that hundreds of 
buiness men in the city of New Y''ork have chosen it for their summer 
residences, and many of them for their permanent dwelling-places. Like 
Sing-Sing, Tarrytown, Irvington, and Dobbs's Ferry, it has a hilly and 



THE HUDSON. 



361 



exceedingly picturesque country around; and through it the dashing 
Neperah, or Saw-Mill Eiver, after flowing many miles among the 
Greenburgh hills, finds its way into the Hudson in a series of rapids and 
cascades. It forms a merry feature in the scenery of the village. 

Yonkers derives its name from TonJcIieer — Young Master or Lord — the 
common appellation for the heir of a Dutch family. It is an old 
settlement, lands having been purchased here from the sachems by some 
of the Dutch West India Company as early as the beginning of Peter 
Stuyvesant's administration of the affairs of New Netherland.*' Here was 
the Indian village of JVap-jje-cIm-mak, a name signifying "the rapid water 
settlement." This was the name of the stream, afterwards corrupted to 
Neperah, and changed by the Dutch and English to Saw-Mill Iliver. 
Those utilitarian fathers have much to answer foi', because they expelled 
from our geographical vocabulary so many of the beautiful and significant 
Indian names. 

To the resident, the visitor, and the tourist, the scenery about Yonkers 
is most attractive; and the delightful roads in all directions invite 
equestrian and carriage excursionists to real pleasure. Those fond of 
boating and bathing, fishing and fowling, may here find gratification 
at proper seasons, within a half-hour's ride, by railway, from the 
metropolis. 

n'he chief attraction at Yonkers for the antiquary is the Philipse Manor 
Hall, a spacious stone edifice, that once belonged to the lords of Philipse 
Manor. The older portion was built in 1682. The present front, forming 
an addition, was erected in 1745, when old " Castle Philipse," at Sleepy 
Hollow, was abandoned, and the Manor Hall became the favourite 
dwelling of the family) Its interior construction (preserved by the present 
owner, the Hon. W. W. Woodworth, with scrupulous care) attests the 
wealth and taste of the lordly proprietor. iThe gi^eat Hall, or passage, is 



* Tlie domain included in the towns of Yonkers, West Farms, and Morrisania waa purchased of the 
IndiaW by Adiiaen Van der Donck, the "first lawyer in New Netherland," and confirmed to him in 
l(iI6 by grant from the Dutch West India Company, with the title and privilege of Patroon. It con- 
tained 2-1,000 acres. He called it Colen Donck, or Donck's Colony. Van der Donck, who died in 1655, 
was an active man in New Amsterdam (now New York), and took part with the people against the 
governor when disputes arose. He wrote an interesting description of the country. After the English 
conquest of New Netherland, Frederick Pliilipse and others purchased a greater portion of his estate on 
the Hudson and Harlem rivers. 

3 A 



362 



THE HUDSON. 



broad, and the staircase capacious and massive. The rooms are largo, 
and the ceilings are lofty; all the rooms are wainscoted, and the chief 
apartment has beautiful ornamental work upon the ceiling, in high relief, 
composed of arabesque forms, the figures of birds, dogs, and men, and 
two, medallion portraits. Two of the rooms have carved chimney-pieces 
of grey Irish marble. The guest-chamber, over the drawing-room, is 




handsomely decorated with ornamental architecture, and some of the fire- 
places are surrounded with borders of ancient Dutch tiles. The well has 
a subterranean passage leading from it, nobody knows to where ; and the 
present ice-house, seen on the right of the picture, composed of huge 
walls and massive arch, was a powder-magazine in the ** olden time." 
Altoge,ther, this old hall — one of the antiquities of the Hudson — is an 



THE HUDSON. 



363 



attractive curiosity, which the obliging proprietor is pleased to show to 
those M^ho visit it because of their reverence for things of the past. It 
possesses a bit of romance, too ; for here was born, and here lived, Mary 
i'hilipse, whose charms captivated the heart of young^WashingtonJ but 
whose hand Avas given to another, as we shall observe hereafter. 
^n the river, in front of Yonkers, the Half-Moon, Henry Hudson's 



CerlcfuuJL 




exploring vessel, made her second anchorage after leaving New York Bay. 
It was toward the evening of the 12th of September, 1609 ; the explorer 
had then been several days in the yiciniij oi: Man-7i(i-Jiat- fa, as the Indians 
called the island on which New York stands, and had had some inter- 
course with the natives. " The twelfth," says " Master Ivet (Juet) of 
the Lime House," who wrote Hudson's journal, " fuire and hot. In the 



364 THE HUDSON. 



afteruoon, at two of the clocke, wee weighed, the winde being variable, 
betweene the north and the north-west. So we turned into the Eiuer 
two leagues, and anchored. This morning, at ovr first rode in the Eiuer, 
there came eight- and-twentie Canoes full of men, women, and children, to 
betray vs ; but we saw their intent, and suffered none of them to come 
abord of vs. At twelue of the clocke they departed ; they brought with 
them Oysters and Beanes, whereof wee bought some. They have great 
tobacco-pipes of Yellow Copper, and Pots of Earth to dresse their meate 
in." That night a strong tidal current placed the stern of the Half-Moon 
up stream. That event, and the assurance of the natives that the waters 
northward, upon which he had gazed with wonder and delight, came 
from far beyond the mountains, inspired Hudson with great hope, for it 
must be remembered that his errand was the discovery of a northern 
passage to India. He now doubted not that the great river upon which 
he was floating flowed from ocean to ocean, and that his search was nearly 
over, and would be speedily crowned with success.'} 

(A mile and a half below Yonkers, on the bank of the Hudson, is Font 
Hill, formerly the residence of Edwin Forrest, the eminent American 
tragedian. The mansion is built of blue granite, in the English castel- 
lated form, a style not wholly in keeping with the scenery around ii.j It 
would have been peculiarly appropriate and imposing among the rugged 
hills of the Highlands thirty or forty miles above. The building has six 
towers, from which very extensive views of the Hudson and the sur- 
rounding country may be obtained. The flag, or stair tower, is seventy- 
one feet in height. 

(To this delightful residence Mr. Forrest brought his bride. Miss 
Catherine Sinclair, daughter of the celebrated Scotch vocalist, in 1838, 
and for six years they enjoyed domestic and professional life in an eminent 
degree. Unfortunately for his future peace, Mr. Forrest was induced to 
visit England in 1844. He was accompanied by his wife. There he 
soon became involved in a bitter dispute with the dramatic critic of the 
London Examiner, and Macready the actor. This quarrel led to the 
most serious results. Out of it were developed the mob and the bloodshed 
of what is known, in the social history of the city of l^ew York, as the 
"Astor Place lliot," and with it commenced Mr. Forrest's domestic 



THE HUDSON. 



363 



rouble, winch ended, as all the world knows, in tire permanent separa- 
tron of hr^self and wife. Font Hiil, where he had enjoyed so mncl 
Happ,ness, lost rts eharn,, and he sold it to the Ronran Caholie Sisters of 




i.t.vvttA„ ,.;(« /; 



Charrty, of the Convent and Academy of Mount St. Vincent.^ This insti- ' 

thrifrrf!t':'*'''""'*'^'"^''™^™'''^»«>'S''-t,betwe^ , 

the r.fth and S«th Avenues, New York. It is devoted to the instruction I 



366 



THE HUDSON. 



of yotiug ladies. The community, numbering about two hundred Sisters 
at the time of my visit, was scattered. Some were at Pont Hill, and 
others were at different places in the city and neighbourhood. The whole 
were under the general direction of Mother Superior Mary Angela Hughes. 
At Font Hill they erected an extensive and elegant pile of buildings, of 
which they took possession, and wherein they opened a school, on the 




MOUNT ST. VINCENT ACADEMY. 



ist of September, 1859. It was much enlarged in 1865. They had, in 
1860, about one hundred and fifty pupils, all boarders, to whom was 
offered the opportunity of acquii'ing a thorough education. The chaplain 
of the institution occupies the "castle." 

Two miles and a-half below Font Hill, or Mount St. Vincent, is Spyt 
den DuTvol Creek, at the head of York or Manhattan Island. This is a 



THE liUDSuN. 



m: 



narrow stream, winding through a little tortuous valley for a luilo or 
more, and connecting, at Kingsbridge, with the Harlem River, the 
first formed by the inflowing of the tide waters of the Hudson, and 
the last by the waters of the East Hiver. At ebb-tide the currents 
part at Kingsbridge. The view from the mouth of the Spyt den 
Duyvel, over which the Hudson River Railway passes, loolving either 




JJi^N DUiVEL CEtEK 



across the river to the Palisades, as given in our sketch, or inland, 
embracing bold Berrian's Neck on the left, and the wooded head of 
Manhattan Island on the right, with the winding creek, the cultivated 
ridge on the borders of Harlem River, and the heights of Fordham 
beyond, present pleasant scenes for the artist's pencil. To these 
natural scenes, history and romance lend the charm of their associations. 



368 



THE HUDSON. 



Here, on the 2nd of October, 1608, Henry Hudson had a severe fight 
with the Indians, who attacked the Half -Moon with arrows from canoes 
and the points of land, as she lay at anchor in the sheltering month of 
the creek. Here, too, while Governor Stuyvesant was absent on the 
Delaware, nine hundred of the river Indians encamped, and menaced the 
little town of New Amsterdam, at the lower extremity of the island, with 
destruction. Here^ccording to Diedrick Knickerbocker's " History of 
iN'ew York," Anthony Van Corlear, the trumpeter of Governor Stuyvesant, 
lost his life in attempting to swim across the creek during a violent storm. 
*' The wind was high," says the chronicler, "the elements were in an 
uproar, and no Charon could be found to ferry the adventurous sounder 
of brass across the water. For a short time he vapoured like an impatient 
ghost upon the brink, and then bethinking himself of the urgency of his 
errand (to arouse the people to arms), he took a hearty embrace of his 
stone bottle, swore most valorously that he would swim across in spite of 
the devil {en spijt den (hiyvel), and daringly plunged into the stream. 
Luckless Anthony ! Scarcely had he buffeted half way over, when he 
was observed to struggle violently, as if battling with the Spirit of the 
waters. Instinctively he put his trumpet to his mouth, and giving a 
vehement blast, sank for ever to the bottom ! The clangour of his trumpet, 
like that of the ivory horn of the renowned Paladin Orlando, when ex- 
piring in the glorious field of Roncesvalles, rang far and wide through 
the country, alarming the neighbours round, who hnrried in amazement 
to the spot. Here an old Dutch burgher, famed for his veracity, and 
who had been a witness of the fact, related to them the melancholy 
affair ; with the fearful addition (to which I am slow in giving belief), 
that he saw the Duyvel, in the shape of a huge moss-bonker (a species 
of inferior fish) seize the sturdy Anthony by the leg, and drag him 
beneath the waves. Oertain it is, the place, with the adjoining pro- 
montory, which projects into the Hudson, has been called Spyt den 
Buy r el ever since.'} 

During the war for independence, stirring events occurred in the 
vicinity of the Spyt den Duyvel Creek. Batteries were erected on pro- 
montories on each side of it, at its junction with the Hudson ; and in 
Westchester County, in its immediate neighbourhood, many skirmishes 



THE HUDSON. 



369 



took place between Cow Boys and Skinners, Whigs and Tories, British, 
Hessians, and Indians. 

A picturesque road passes along the foot of the Westchester hills that 
skirt the Spyt den Duyvel Valley, to the mouth of Tippett's Creek, which 
comes flowing down from the north through a delightful valley, at the 
back of Yonkers and the neighbouring settlements. This creek was called 
Mosli-u-la by the Indians, and the valley was ^e favourite residence of a 
wavlike Mohegan tribe. Its lower portion was the scene of almost con- 
tinual skirmishing during a portion of the war for independence. 




THE CiiM'LKV llOLSE. 



Tippett's Creek is crossed by a low bridge. A few yards beyond it is 
Kingsbridge, at the head of the Harlem River, which here suddenly ex- 
pands into lake-like proportions. The shores on both sides are beautiful, 
and the view that opens towards Long Island, beyond the East River, is 
charming. 

Kingsbridge has always been a conspicuous point. Land was granted 
there, in 1693, to Frederick Philipse, with power to erect a toll-bridge, 
it being specified that it should be called Tlie King's Bridge. This was 

3 B 



370 



THE HUDSON. 



the only bridge that connected Manhattan Island with the Main, and 
hence all travellers and troops were compelled to cross it, unless they had 
boats for ferrying. Here, during the war for independence, hostile forces 
were frequently confronted ; and from its northern end to the Croton 
river, was the famous "Neutral Ground" during the struggle, whereon 
neither Whig nor Tory could live in peace or safety. Upon the heights 
each side of the bridge redoubts were thrown up ; and here, in January, 
1777, a bloody conflict occurred between the Americans, xmder General 
Heath, and a large body of Hessian mercenaries, under General Knyphausen. 
The place was held alternately by the Americans and British ; and little 
more than half a mile below the bridge an ancient story-and-a-half house 
is yet standing, one hundred and twenty-five years old, which served as 
head-quarters at difi'erent times for the officers of the two armies : it is 
now a house of public entertainment, and is known as " Post's Century 
House." 



m 






CHAPTEll XX. 




JHE Harlem Eivcr (called Mits-coo-ia by the Indians), 
which extends from Kingsbridge to the strait between 
Long Island Sound and New York Bay, known as the 
^^^.^ East River, has an average width of nine hundred 
/fV^ feet. In most places it is bordered by narrow marshy 

I;||' flats, with high hills immediately behind. The scenery along its 
whole length, to the villages of Harlem and Mott Haven, is 
picturesque. The roads on both shores afford pleasant drives, 
and fine country seats and ornamental pleasure-grounds, add to 
the landscape beauties of the river. A line of small steamboats, connect- 
ing with the city, traverse its waters, the head of navigation being a few 
yards above Post's Century House. The tourist will find much pleasure 
in a voyage from the city through the East and Harlem liivers. 

The " High Bridge," or aqueduct over which the waters of the Croton 
How from the main land to Manhattan Island, crosses the Island at One 
Hundred and Seventy-Third Street. It is built of granite. The aqueduct 
is fourteen hundred and fifty feet in length, and rests upon arches supported 
by fourteen piers of heavy masonry. Eight of these arches are eighty 
feet span, and six of them fifty feet. The height of the bridge, above 
tide water, is one hundred and fourteen feet. The structure originally 
cost about a million of dollars. Pleasant roads on both sides of the 
Harlem lead to the High Bi'idge, where full entertainment for man and 
horse maybe had. The "High Bridge" is a place of great resort in 
pleasant weather for those who love the road and rural scenery. 

Abroad, macadamized avenue, called the " Kingsbridge Road," leads 
from the upper end of York Island to Manhattanville, where it connects 
with and is continued by the " Bloomingdale Road," in the direction of 
the city. The drive over this road is very agreeable. The winding 



372 



THE HUDSON. 



avenue passes tliroiigli a narrow valley, part of the way between rugged 
hills, only partially divested of the forest, and ascends to the south-eastern 
slope of Mount Washington (the highest land on the island), on which 
stands the village of Carmansville. f At the upper end of this village, on 
the high rocky bank of the Harlem iJiver, is a fine old mansion, known 




THE HIGH BRIDGE.^ 



as the "Morris House," the residence, until her death in 1865, of the 
widow of Aaron Burr, vice-president of the United States, but better 
known as Madame Jumel, the name of her first husband. The mansion is 



I 



* This view is from llie grounds in front of tlie dwelling of Richard Carman, Esq., former proprietor 
of all the land whereon the village of Carmansville stands. He is still owner of a very large estate in 
that vicinity. 



THE HUDSON. 



373 



at One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Street. It is surrounded by highly 
ornamented grounds, and its situation is one of the most desirable on the 
island. It commands a fine view of the Harlem Eiver at the High 
Bridge, to the village of Harlem and beyond ; *^ also of Long Island Sound, 
the villages of Astoria and Flushing, and the green fields of Long Island. 
Nearer are seen Harlem Plains, and the fine new bridge at Macomb's Dam. 
This house was built before the old war for independence, by Iloger 
Morris, a fellow- soldier with Washington on the field of Monongohela, 




THE HAELEM EIVER, FEOM THE MORRIS HOUSE. 

where Braddock fell, in the summer of 1755. Morris was also Washing- 
ton's rival in a suit for the heart and hand of Mary, the heir of the lord 
of Philipse's Manor. The biographer says that in February, 1756, 
Colonel Washington went to Boston to confer with Governor Shirley about 
military affairs in Virginia. He stopped in New York on his return, and 



* Harlem, situated on the Harlem Eiver, between the Eighth Avenue and East Eiver, was an early 
settlement on the island of Manhattan, by the Dutch. It was a flourishing village, chiefly bordering 
the Third Avenue, but is now a part of the great metropolis. 



374 



THE HUDSON. 



was then the g-uest of Beverly Eobinson. Mrs. Eobinson's sister, Mary 
Philipse, was also a guest there, in the summer-time. Her bright eyes, 
blooming cheeks, great vivacity, perfection of person, aristocratic 
connexions, and prospective wealth, captivated the young Virginia 
soldier. He lingered in her presence as long as duty would permit, and 
would gladly have carried her with him to Virginia as his bride ; but his 
extreme diffidence kept the momentous question unspoken, and Eoger 
Morris, his fellow aide-de-camp in Braddock's military family, bore off the 




THE MOEEIS MANSION. 



prize. Morris, like his brother-in-law, Beverly Robinson, adhered to the 
crown after the American colonies declared themselves independent 
in 1776. When, in the autumn of that year, the American army under 
Washington encamped upon Harlem Heights, and occupied Eort Washing- 
ton near, Morris fled for safety to Robinson's house in the Highlands, and 
Washington occupied his elegant mansion as his head-quarters for awhile. 
The house is preserved in its original)form and materials, excepting where 
external repairs have been necessary. J 



I 



THE HUDSON. 



375 



At the lower extremity of Carmansyille, and about a mile above 
Manhattanville, is a most beautiful domain, as yet almost untouched by 
the hand of change. It is about eight miles from the heart of the city, 
completely embowered, and presenting a pleasing picture at every point 
of view. ("This was the home of General Alexander Hamilton, one of the 
founders of the Itepublic, and is one of the few " undesecrated " dwelling- 




IHF GRAIiCtL. 



places of the men of the last century, to be found on York Island. Near 
the centre of the ground stands the house Hamilton built for his home, 
and which he named "The Grange," from the residence of his grand- 
father, in Ayrshire, Scotland. Then it was completely in the country — 
now it is surrounded by the suburban residences of the great city. It is 



376 



THE HUDSON. 



situated about half-way between the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, and is 
reached from the Kingsbridge road by a gravelled and shaded walk. Near 
the house is a group of thirteen trees, planted by Hamilton himself, the 
year before he was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr, and named, 
respectively, after the original thirteen States of the Union. \ All of them 
are straight, vigorous trees, but one, and that, tradition says,' he chanced 
to name South Carolina. It is crooked in trunk and branches, and 
materially disfigures the group. It well typifies the state of South 
Carolina in its past history as represented by its ruling class, which 
was composed, to a great extent, of professional politicians, who were 
arrogant, narrow, opposed to simple republican institutions, and longing 
for an alteration in the fundamental principles of their government so as to 
have political power centred in few great land and slave holders. This 
class was always crooked, always discontented and turbulent, and fi.nally, 
in the year 1860, disgraced their State and made its name a by-word for 
all time, by an attempt to overthrow the Eepublic, and establish upon its 
ruins the despotism of an irresponsible oligarchy, whose basis should be 
HUMAN SLAVEET ! They kindled a civil war which cost the nation the 
lives of almost half a million of men, and nearly three thousand millions 
of dollars. 

The ''Grange" is upon an elevation of nearly 200 feet above the 
rivers, and commands, through "sistas, delightful views of Harlem River and 
Plains, the East River and Long Island, and the fertile fields of Lower 
Westchester. It is just within the outer lines of the entrenchments 
thrown up by the Americans in 1776, and is in the midst of the theatre of 
the stirring events of that year. 

"Wc have now fairly entered upon Manhattan Island, inour journeyings 
from the "Wilderness to the Sea, and are rapidly approaching the 
commercial metropolis of the country, seated upon its southern portion, 
where the waters of the Hudson, the East, and the Passaic Rivers 
commingle in the magnificent harbour of New York. 

This island — purchased by the Dutch of the painted savages, only two 
centuries and a half ago, for the paltry sum of twenty-four dollars, paid 
in traffic at a hundred per cent, profit — contains tenfold more wealth, 
in proportion to its size, than any other on the face of the globe. It is 



I 



THE HUDSON. 



377 



thirteen and a-lialf miles long, and two and a-half miles wide at its 
greatest breadth. It was originally very rough and rocky, abounding in 
swamps and conical hills, alternating with fertile spots. 

Over the upper part of the island are many pleasant roads not yet 
straightened into rectangular streets, and these afford fine recreative drives 
for the citizens, and stirring scenes when the lovers of fast horses, who 
abound in the city, are abroad. The latter are seen in great numbers in 
these thoroughfares every pleasant afternoon, when "Young America" 
takes an airing. 

Before making excursions over these ways, and observing their sur- 
roundings, let us turn aside from the Kingsbridge Road, in the direction 
of the Hudson, and, following a winding avenue, note some of the private 
rural residences that cover the crown and slopes of old Mount "Washington, 
now called Washington Heights, The villas are remarkable for the taste 
displayed in their architecture, their commanding locations, and the beauty 
of the surrounding grounds derived from the mingled labour of art and 
nature. As we approach the river the hills become steeper, the road 
more sinuous, the grounds more wooded, and the general scenery on land 
and water more picturesque. One of the most charming of these 
landscapes, looking in any direction, may be found upon the road just 
above the "Washington Heights railway station, near the delightful 
residence of Thomas Ingraham, Esq. It our little sketch we are looking 
up the road, and the slopes of the beautiful lawn in front of his house. 
Turning half round, we have glimpses of the Hudson, and quite 
extended views of the bold scenery about Fort Lee, on the opposite 
shore. 

Following this road a few rods farther down the heights, we reach the 
station-house of the Hudson River Railway, which stands at the southern 
entrance to a deep rock excavation through a point of Mount Washington, 
known for a hundred years or more as Jeffrey's Hook. This point has an 
interesting revolutionary history in connection with Mount Washington. 
At the beginning of the war, the great value, in a strategic point of view, 
of Manhattan Island, and of the river itself — in its entire length to Fort 
Edward — as a dividing line between New England and the remainder of 
the colonies, was fully appreciated by the contending parties. The 

3 c 



878 



THE HUDSON. 



Ameiicans adopted measures early to secure these, by erecting fortifications. 
Mount AVashiugton (so named at that time) was the most elevated land 
upon the island, and formidable military "worlvs of earth and stone were 




VIEW ON WASHINGTONtHEIGHTS. 



I 



soon erected upon its crown and upon the heights in the vicinity from 
Manhattanville to Kingsbridge. The principal work was Fort Washington. 
The citadel was on the crown of Mount Washington, overlooking the 



THE HUDSON. 



379 



country in every direction, and comprising within the scope of vision the 
Hudson from the Highlands to the harbour of New York. The citadel, 
with the outworks, covered several acres between One Hundred and 
Eighty-first and One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Streets. 

On the point of the chief promontory of Mount Washington jutting 
into the Hudson, known as Jeffery's Hook, a strong redoubt was 




JEFFEEYS HOOK. 



constructed, as a cover to cheraux-de-frise and other obstructions placed in 
the river between that point and Fort Lee, to prevent the British ships 
going up the Hudson. The remains of this redoubt, in the form of grassy 
mounds covered with small cedars, are prominent upon the point, as seen 
in the engraving above. The ruins of Fort Washington, in similar form, 
were also very conspicuous until within a few years, and a fla«- staff 



380 



THE HUDSON. 



marked the place of the citadel. Eut the ruthless hand of pride, forgetful 
of the past, and of all patriotic allegiance to the most cherished traditions 
of American citizens, has levelled the mounds, and removed the flag-staff ; 
and that spot, consecrated to the memory of valorous deeds and courageous 
suffering, must now be sought for in the kitchen-garden or ornamental 
grounds of some wealthy citizen, whose choice celery or bed of verbenas 
has greater charms than the green sward of a hillock beneath which 
reposes the dust of a soldier of the old war for independence ! 




ASVLUM FOE THE DEAF AND DUMl 



"Soldiers buried here?" inquires the startled resident. Yes; your 
villa, your garden, your beautiful lawn, are all spread out over the dust 
of soldiers, for all over these heights the blood of Americans, English- 
men, and Germans flowed freely in the autumn of 1776, when the fort 
was taken by the British after one of the hardest struggles of the war. 
More than two thousand Americans were captured, and soon filled the 
loathsome prisons and prison-ships of New York. 

Near the river-bank, on the south-western slope of Mount Washington, 
is the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, one of several 



THE HUDSON. 381 



retreats for the unfortunate, situated upon the Hudson shore of Manhattan 
Island. It is one of the oldest institutions of the kind in the United 
States, the act of the Legislature of New York incorporating it being dated 
on the day (April 15, 1817) when the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb 
at Hartford, Connecticut, was opened. The illustrious De Witt Clinton 
was the first president of the association. Its progress was slow for 
several years, when, in 1831, Mr. Harvey P. Peet was installed executive 
head of the asylum, as principal : he infused life into the institution 
immediately. Its affairs were administered by his skilful and energetic 
hand during more than thirty years, and his services were marked by the 
most gratifying results. In 1845, the title of President was conferred 
upon Mr. Peet, and three or four years later he received the honorary 
degree of Doctor of Laws. He was at the head of instruction and of the 
family in the institution. Under his guidance many of both sexes, shut 
out from participation in the intellectual blessings which are vouchsafed 
to well-developed humanity, were newly created, as it were, and made to 
experience, in a degree, the sensations of Adam, as described by 
Milton : — 

" straight towards heaven my wondering ej-es I turned, 
And gazed awhile the ample sky, till raised 
By quick instinctive motion, up I sprung. 
As thitherward endeavowing, and upright 
Stood on my feet ; about me round I saw 
Hill, dale, and shady woods, and sunny plains, 
And liquid lapse of murmuring streams ; by these, 
Creatures that lived, and moved, and walked, or Hew ; 
Birds on the branches warbling ; all things smiled ; 
with fragrance and with joy my heart o'erflowed. 
Myself I then perused, and limb by limb 
Surveyed, and sometimes went, and sometimes ran. 
With supple joints, as lively vigour led ; 
But who I was, or where, or from what cause. 
Knew not ; to xpeak /tried, and forthicith spoke : 
My tongue obeyed, and readily could name 
Whate'er I saw." 



The situation of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb is a delightful 
one. The lot comprises thirty-seven acres of land, between the Kings- 
bridge Eoad and the river, about nine miles from the New York City 
Hall. The buildings, five in number, form a quadrangle of two hundred 



382 



THE HUDSON. 



and forty feet front, and more than three hundred feet in depth ; they 
are upon a terrace one hundred and twenty-seven feet ahove the river, 
and are surrounded by fine old trees, and shrubbery. The buildings are 
capable of accommodating four hundred and fifty pupils, with their 
teachers and superintendents, and the necessary domestics. 

In the midst of a delightful grove of forest trees, a short distance below 




ESIBENCE. 



the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, is the dwelling of the late 
J. J. Audubon, the eminent naturalist, where some of his family still 
reside. Only a few years ago it was as secluded as any rural scene fifty 
miles from the city ; now, other dwellings are in the grove, streets have 
been cut through it, the suburban village of Carmansville has covered the 



THE HUDSON. 383 



adjacent eminence, and a station of the Hudson River Railway is almost 
in front of the dwelling. 

Audubon was one of the most remarkable men of his age, and his work 
on the " Birds of America " forms one of the noblest monuments ever 
made in commemoration of true genius. In that great work, pictures of 
birds, the natural size, are given in four hundred and eighty-eight plates. 
It was completed in 1844, and at once commanded the highest admiration 
of scientific men. Baron Cuvier said of it, — " It is the most gigantic and 
most magnificent monument that has ever been erected to Nature." 
Audubon was the son of a French admiral, who settled in Louisiana, and 
his whole life was devoted to his favourite pursuit. The story of that 
life is a record of acts of highest heroism, and presents a most remarkable 
illustration of the triumphs of perseverance. 

A writer, who visited Mr. Audubon not long before his death, in 1851, 
has left the following pleasant account of him and his residence near 
Mount Washington : — 

" My walk soon brought a secluded country house into view, — a house 
not entirely adapted to the nature of the scenery,, yet simple and unpre- 
tending in its architecture, and beautifully embowered amid elms and 
oaks. Several graceful fawns, and a noble elk, were stalking in the 
shade of the trees, apparently unconscious of the presence of a few dogs, 
and not caring for the numerous turkeys, geese, and other domestic 
animals that gobbled and screamed around them. Nor did my own 
approach startle the wild, beautiful creatures that seemed as docile as 
any of their tame companions. 

" ' Is the master at home?' I asked of a pretty maid-servant who 
answered my tap at the door, and who, after informing me that he was, 
led me into a room on the west side of the broad hall. It was not, how- 
ever, a parlour, or an ordinary reception room that I entered, but 
evidently a room for work. In one corner stood a painter's easel, with a 
half-finished sketch of a beaver on the paper ; on the other lay the skin 
of an American panther. The antlers of elks hung upon the walls, 
stuffed birds of every description of gay plumage ornamented the mantel- 
piece, and exquisite drawings of field-mice, orioles, and woodpeckers, 
were scattered promiscuously in other parts of the room, across one end 



384 THE HUDSON. 



of wliich a long rude table was stretched, to hold artist's materials, scraps 
of drawing-paper, and immense folio volumes, filled with delicious 
paintings of birds taken in their native haunts. 

" ' This,' said I to myself, ' is the studio of the naturalist,' but hardly 
had the thought escaped me when the master himself made his appear- 
ance. He was a tall, thin man, with a high, arched, and serene forehead, 
and a bright, penetrating, grey eye ; his white locks fell in clusters upon 
his shoulders, but they were the only signs of age, for his form was 
erect, and his step as light as that of a deer. The expression of his face 
was sharp, but noble and commanding, and there was something in it, 
partly derived from the aquiline nose, and partly from the shutting of 
the mouth, which made you think of the imperial eagle. 

"His greeting, as he entered, was at once frank and cordial, and 
showed you the sincere, true man. ' How kind it is,' he said, with a 
slight French accent, and in a pensive tone, ' to come to see me, and how 
wise, too, to leave that crazy city ! ' He then shook me warmly by the 
hand. < Do you know,' he continued, * how I wonder that men can 
consent to swelter and fret their lives away amid those hot bricks and 
pestilent vapours, when the woods and fields are all so near ? It would 
kill me soon to be confined in such a prison-house, and when I am forced 
to make an occasional visit there, it fills me with loathing and sadness. 
Ah ! how often, when I have been abroad on the mountains, has my heart 
risen in grateful praise to God that it was not my destiny to waste and 
pine among those noisome congregations of the city !' "^' 

Audubon died at the beginning of 1851, at the age of seventy-one 
years. His body was laid in a modest tomb in the beautiful Trinity 
Cemetery, near his dwelling. This burial-place, deeply shaded by 
original forest trees and varieties that have been planted, affords a most 
delightful retreat on a warm summer's day. It lies upon the slopes of 
the river bank. Poot-paths and carriage-roads wind through it in all 
directions, and pleasant glimpses of the Hudson may be caught through 
vistas at many points. In the south-western extremity of the grounds. 



Homes of American Authors. 



THE HUDSON. 



385 



upon a plain granite doorway to a vault, may be seen, in raised letters, 
the name of Atjdxjbon. 

The drive from Trinity Cemetery to Manhattanville is a delightful one. 
The road is hard and smooth at all seasons of the year, and is shaded in 
summer by many ancient trees that graced the forest. From it frequent 
pleasant views of the river may be obtained. There are some fine 




TFM IN' TEIMTl CEMETER-i 



residences on both sides of the -way, and evidences of the sure but stealthy 
approach of the great city are perceptible. 

Manhattanville, situated in the chief of the four valleys that cleave the 
island from the Hudson to the East River, now a pleasant suburban 
village, is destined to be soon swallowed by the approaching and rapacious 
town. Its site on the Hudson was originally called Harlem Cove. It 

3 D 



386 



THE HUDSON. 



was considered a place of strategic importance in the tvar for independence 
and the war of 1812, and at both periods fortifications were erected there 
to command the pass from the Hudson to Harlem Plains, to whose verge 




MANHATTANVILLE FROM CLAEEMONT. 



4 



the little village extends. Upon the heights near, the Eoman Catholics 
have two flourishing literary institutions, namely, the Convent of the 
Sacred'Heart, for girls, and the Academy of the Holy Infant, for boys. 



THE HUDSON. 



387 



Upon the high promontory overlooking the Hudson, on the south side 
of Manhattanvillc, is Jones's Clareraont Hotel, a fashionable place of 
resort for the pleasure-seekers who frequent the Bloomingdalc and Kings- 
bi'idge roads, on pleasant afternoons. At such times it is often thronged 
with visitors, and presents a lively appearance. The main, or older 
portion of the building, was erected, I believe, by the elder Dr. Post, 




'^yyv'S^^^ii^^^^ 



CLAEEMONT. 



early in the present century, as a summer residence, and named by him 
Claremont. It still belongs to the Post family,. It was an elegant 
country mansion, upon a most desirable spot, overlooking many leagues 
of the Hudson. There, more than fifty years ago, lived Yiscount 
Courtenay, afterwards Earl of Devon. He left England, it was reported, 
because of political troubles. "When the war of 1812 broke out, he 



388 



THE HUDSON. 



returned thither, leaving his furniture and plate, which were sold at 
auction. The latter is preserved with care by the family of the 
purchaser. Courtenay was a great "lion" in New York, for he was a 
handsome bachelor, with title, fortune, and reputation — a combination 
of excellences calculated to captivate the heart-desires of the opposite sex. 

Claremont was the residence, for awhile, of Joseph Buonaparte, ex-king 
of Spain, when he first took refuge in the United States, after the battle 
of "Waterloo and the downfall of the Napoleon dynasty. Here, too, 
Francis James Jackson, the successor of Mr. Erskine, the British minister 
at Washington at the opening of the war of 1812, resided a short time. 
He was familiarly known as *' Copenhagen Jackson," because of his then 
recent participation in measures for the seizure of the Danish fleet by the 
British at Copenhagen. He was politically and socially unpopular, and 
presented a strong contrast to the polished Courtenay. 

Manhattanville is the northern termination of the celebrated Blooming- 
dale Road, which crosses the island diagonally from Union Square at 
Sixteenth Street, to the high bank of the Hudson at One Hundred and 
Fifteenth Street. It is a continuation of Broadway (the chief retail 
business street of the city), from Union Square to Harsenville, at Sixty- 
Eighth Street. In that section it is called Broadway, and is compactly 
built upon. Beyond Seventieth Street it is still called Bloomingdale 
Road — a hard, smooth, macadamised highway, broad, devious, and 
undulating, shaded the greater portion of its length, made attractive by 
many elegant residences and ornamental grounds, and thronged every fine 
day with fast horses and light vehicles, bearing the young and the gay of 
both sexes. The stranger in New York will have the pleasure of his 
visit greatly enhanced by a drive over this road toward the close of a 
pleasant day. Its nearest approach to the river is at One Hundred and 
Fifteenth Street, at which point our little sketch was taken. 

Among the places of note on the Bloomingdale Road is the New York 
Asylum for the Insane, Elm Park, and the New York Orphan Asylum. 
The former is situated on the east side of the road where it approaches 
nearest the Hudson, the grounds, containing forty acres, occupying the 
entire square between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues, and One Hundred 
and Fifteenth and One Hundred and Twentieth Streets. The institution 



THE HUDSON. 



389 



was opened in the year 1821, for the reception of patients. It may be 
considered a development of the Lunatic Asylum founded in 1810. Its 
establishment upon more rational principles is due to the benevolent 
Thomas Eddy, a Quaker, who proposed to the governors of the old 
institution a course of moral treatment more thorough and extensive than 
had yet been tried. 

The place selected for the asylum, near the village of Eloomingdale, is 




VIEW ON ELOOMINGDALE EOAD. 



unequalled. The ground is elevated and diy, and affords extensive and 
delightful views of the Hudson and the adjacent city and country. The 
buildings are spacious, the grounds beautifully laid out, and ornamented 
with shrubbery and flowers, and every arrangement is made with a view 
to soothe and heal the distempers of the mind. The patients are allowed 



390 



THE HUDSON. 



to busy themselves with, work or chosen amusements, to walk in the 
garden or pleasure-grounds, and to ride out on pleasant days, proper 
discrimination being always observed. 

A short distance below the Asylum for the Insane, on the east side of 
the Blooming-dale Road, is the fine old country seat of the Apthorpe 
family, called Elm Park. It is now given to the uses of mere devotees 
of pleasure. Here the Germans of the city congregate in great numbers 




ASYLUM FOE THE INSANE. 



during hours of leisure, to drink beer, tell stories, smoke, sing, and enjoy 
themselves in their peculiar way with a zeal that seems to be inspired by 
Moore's idea that — 



' Pleasure's tlie only noble end, 
To which all human po\Yers should tend." 



Elm Park was the head-quarters of Sir "William Howe, at the time of the 
battle on Harlem Plains, in the autumn of 1776. "Washington had 
occupied it only the day before, and had there waited anxiously and 



THE HUDSON. 



391 



impatiently for the arrival of the fugitive Americans under General 
Putnam, who narrowly escaped capture when the British took possession 
of the city. The Bloomingdale Eoad, along which they moved, then 
passed through almost continuous woods in this vicinity. Washington 
himself had a very narrow escape here, for he left the house only a few 
minutes before the advanced British column took possession of it. 

Elm Park, when the accompanying sketch was made (June, 1861), 




was a sort ol camp of instruction for volunteers for the army of the 
Bepublic, then engaged in crushing the great rebellion, in favour of 
human slavery and political and social despotism. "When I visited it, 
companies were actively drilling, and the sounds of the fife and drum 
were mingled with the voices of mirth and conviviality. It was an hour 



392 THE HUDSON. 



after a tempest had passed by which had prostrated one or two of the 
old majestic trees which shade the ground and the broad entrance lane. 
These trees, composed chiefly of elms and locusts, attest the antiquity of 
the place, and constitute the lingering dignity of a mansion where wealth 
and social refinement once dispensed the most generous hospitality. 
Strong are the contrasts in its earlier and later history. 




CHAPTER XXI, 




"^/^IH^^'' ETWEEN the Bloomingclale Eoad and the Hudson, and 
TI '<'*''Wn^^''^(i Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Streets, is the New 
j^v ii iPS^afe York Oi-phan Asylum, one of the noblest charities in 
Ijkj^-'^^^W^ the land. It is designed for the care and culture of 
'■^- ' little children without parents or other protectors. 

Here a home and refuge are found for little ones who have 
been cast upon the cold charities of the world. From one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred of these children of misfor- 
tune are there continually, with their physical, moral, intel- 
lectual, and spiritual wants supplied. Their home is a beautiful one. 
The building is of stone, and the grounds around it, sloping to the river, 
comprise about fifteen acres. This institution is the child of the " Society 
for the Eelicf of Poor Widows with Small Children," founded in 1806 by 
several benevolent ladies, among whom were the sainted Isabella Graham, 
Mrs. Hamilton, wife of the eminent General Alexander Hamilton, and 
Mrs. Joanna Bethune, daughter of Mrs. Graham. It is supported by 
private bequests and annual subscriptions. 

There is a similar establishment, called the Leake and Watts Orphan 
House, situated above the New York Asylum, on One Hundi-ed and 
Eleventh and One Hundred and Twelfth Streets, between the Ninth and 
Tenth Avenues. It is surrounded by twenty-six acres of land, owned by 
the institution. The building, which was first opened for the reception 
of orphans in 1842, is capable of accommodating about two hundred and 
fifty children. It was founded by John George Leake, who bequeathed 
a large sum for the purpose. His executor, John "Watts, also made a 
liberal donation for the same object, and in honour of these benefactors 
the institution was named. 

These comprise the chief public establishments for the unfortunate in 
the city of New York, near the Hudson river. There are many others 

3 E 



394 



THE HUDSON. 



in the metropolis, but they do not properly claim a place in these 
sketches. 

Let us here turn towards the interior of the island, drive to the verge 
of Harlem Plains, and then make a brief tour through the finished portions 
of the Central Park. Our road will be a little unpleasant a part of the 
way, for this portion of the island is yet in a state of transition from 
original roughness to the symmetry produced by art and labour. 

Here, on the southern verge of the Plains, we will leave our waggon, 
and climb to the summit of the rocky bluff, by a winding path up a steep 








ORPHAN ASYLUM. 



hill covered with bushes, and take our stand by the side of an old square 
tower of brick, built for a redoubt during the war of 1812, and now used 
as a powder-house. The view northward, over Harlem Plains, is de- 
lightful. From the road at our feet stretch away numerous "truck" 
gardens, from which the city draws vegetable supplies. On the left is 
seen Manhattanville and a glimpse of the Palisades beyond the Hudson. 
In the centre, upon the highest visible point, is the Convent of the Sacred 
Heart ; and towards the right is the Croton Aqueduct, or High Bridge, 
over the Harlem river. The trees on the extreme right mark the line of 



THE HUDSON. 



395 



the race-course, a mile in length, beginning at Luff's, the great resort for 
sportsmen. On this course, the trotting abilities of fast horses are tried 
by matches every fine day. 

In our little view of the Plains and the high ground beyond, is included 
the theatre of stirring and very important events of the revolution, in the 
autumn of 1776. Here was fought the battle of Harlem Plains, that 
saved the American army on Harlem Heights ; and yonder, in the dis- 
tance, was the entrenched camp of the Americans between Manhattanville 




HARLEM PLAINS. 



and Mount Washington, within which occurred most of the sanguinary 
scenes in the capture of Fort Washington by the British and Hessians. 

Our rocky observatory, more than a hundred feet above tide-water, 
overlooking Harlem Plains, is included in the Central Park. Let us 
descend from it, ride along the verge of the Plain, and go up east of 
McGowan's Pass at about One Hundred and Ninth Street, where the 
remains of Forts Fish and Clinton are yet very prominent. These were 
built on the site of the fortifications of the revolution, during the war of 



396 



THE HUDSON. 



1812. Here we enter among the hundreds of men employed in fashioning 
the Central Park. "What a chaos is presented ! Men, teams, barrows, 
blasting, trenching, tunnelling, bridging, and every variety of labour 
needful in the transforming process. "We pick our way over an almost 
impassable road among boulders and blasted rocks, to the great artificial 
basin of one hundred acres, now nearly completed, which is to be called 




i 



VIEW IN CENTRAL PAEK.* 



the Lake of Man-a-hat-ta. It will really be only an immense tank of 
Croton water, for the use of the city. "We soon reach the finished portions 
of the park, and are delighted with the promises of future grandeur and 
beauty. 



Tliis is a view of a portion of the Skating-Pond from a higli point of tlic Ramble. 



THE HUDSON. 



397 



It is impossible, in the brief space allotted to these sketches, to give 
even a faint appreciative idea of the ultimate appearance of this park, 
according to the designs of Messrs. Olmstead and Yaux. "We may only 
convey a few hints. The park was suggested by the late A. J. Downing, 
iu 1851, when Kingsland, mayor of the city, gave it his ofiicial recom- 
mendation. Within a hundred days the Legislature of the State of New 
York granted the city permission to lay out a park ; and in February, 
1856, 733 acres of land, in the centre of the island, was in possession of 
the civic authorities for the purpose. Other purchases for the same end 
were made, and, finally, the area of the park was extended in the direc- 
tion of Harlem Plains, so as to include 843 acres. It is more than two 
and a-half miles long, and half a mile wide, between the Fifth and Eighth 
Avenues, and Fifty-ninth and One Hundred and Tenth Streets. A great 
portion of this space was little better than rocky hills and marshy hollows, 
much of it covered with tangled shrubs and vines. The rocks are chiefly 
upheavals of gneiss, and the soil is composed mostly of alluvial deposits 
tilled with boulders. Already a wonderful change has been wrought. 
Many aci'es have been beautified, and the visitor noAV has a clear idea of 
the general character of the park, when completed. 

The primary purpose of the park is to provide the best practicable means 
of healthful recreation for the inhabitants of the city, of all classes. Its 
chief feature will be a Mall, or broad walk of gravel and grass, 208 feet 
wide, and a fourth of a mile long, planted with four rows of the magnifi- 
cent American elm trees, with scats and other rc(|uisites for resting and 
lounging. This, as has been suggested, will be New York's great out-of- 
doors Hall of Ee-union. There will be a carriage-way more than nine 
miles in length, a bridle-path or equestrian road more than five miles 
long, and walks for pedestrians full twenty-one miles in length. These 
will never cross each other. There will also be traffic roads, crossing the 
park in straight lines from east to west, which will pass through trenches 
and tunnels, and be seldom seen by the pleasure-seekers in the park. 
The whole length of roads and walks will be almost forty miles. 

The Croton water tanks already there, and the new one to be made, 
will jointly cover 150 acres. There are several other smaller bodies of 
water, in their natural basins. The principal of these is a beautiful, 



398 



THE HUDSON. 



irregular lake, kno'wn as the Skating-Pond. Pleasure-boats glide over it 
in summer, and in winter it is thronged with skaters.*' One portion of 
the Skating-Pond is devoted exclusively to the gentler sex. These, of 
nearly all ages and conditions, throng the ice whenever the skating is 
good. 

Open spaces are to be left for military parades, and large plats of turf 
for games, such as ball and cricket, will be laid down — about twenty 
acres for the former, and ten for the latter ; and it is intended to have a 
beautiful meadow in the centre of the park. 

There will be arches of cut stone, and numerous bridges of iron and 
stone (the latter handsomely ornamented and fashioned in the most costly 
style), spanning the trafiic-roads, ravines, and ponds. One of the most 
remarkable of these, forming a central architectural feature, is the Terrace 
Bridge, at the north end of the Mall, already approaching completion. 
This bridge covers a broad arcade, where, in alternate niches, will be 
statues and fountains. Below will be a platform, 170 feet wide, ex- 
tending to the border of the Skating-Pond. It will embrace a spacious 
basin, with a fine fountain jet in its centre. This structure will be 
composed of exquisitely wrought light brown freestone, and granite. 

Such is a general idea of tlie park, the construction of which was begun 
at the beginning of 1858; it is expected to be completed in 1864— a 
period of only about six years. The entire cost will not fall much short 
of 12,000,000 dollars. As n;any as four thousand men and several 
hundred horses have been at work upon it at one time.f 

From the Central Park — ■s\-hcre beauty and symmetry in the hands of 
Nature and Art already performed noble aesthetic service for the citizens 
of New York — let us ride to "Jones's Woods," on the eastern boi'ders of 
the island, where, until recently, the silence of the country forest might 
have been enjoyed almost within sound of the hum of the busy town. 



* The New York Spirit nf the Times, refeiTing to this lake, said:— "From the commencement of 
skaling to the 24th day of February (1861) was sixty-tliree days; there was skating on forty-flve days, 
and no skating on eighteen daj-s. Of visitors to the pond, the least number on any one day was one 
hundred; the largest number on one day (Christmas) estimated at 100,000; aggregate niunber during 
the season, .540,000 ; average number on skating days, 12,000." 

t This brief description was written, and the accompanying sketches were made, in 1861. Tlie 
great work of fashioning this Park, leaving Nature, in the growth of trees and shrubbery, to enrich and 
beautify it, is now (1866) nearly completed. 



THE HUDSON. 



399 



But here, as everywhere else, on the upper part of Manhattan Island, the 
early footprints in the march of improvement are seen. As we leave the 
beautiful arrangement of the park, the eye immediately^ncounters scenes 
of perfect chaos, where animated and inanimated nature combine in 
making pictures upon memory, never to be forgotten. The opening and 
grading of new streets produce many rugged bluffs of earth and rock ; 
and upon these, whole villages of squatters, Avho arc chiefly Irish, may 




1^^ 



^^^ 



THE TKRRACE BUlllUE AND MJ 



be seen. These inhabitants have the most supreme disregard for law or 
custom in planting their dwellings. To them the land seems to "lie out 
of doors," without visible owners, bare and unproductive. Without 
inquiry they take full possession, erect cheap cabins upon the "public 
domains," and exercise "squatter sovereignty" in an eminent degree, 
until some innovating owner disturbs their repose and their title, by 



400 



THE HUDSON. 



undermining their castles — for in New York, as in England, "every 
man's house is his castle." These form the advanced guard of the growing 
metropolis ; and so eccentric is Fortune in the distribution of her favours 
in this land of general equality, that a dweller in these "suburban 
cottages," -where swine and goats are seen instead of deer and blood-cattle, 
may, not many years in the future, occupy a palace upon Central Park — 
perhaps, upon the very spot where he now uses a pig for a pillow, and 
breakfasts upon the milk of she-goatsL In a superb mansion of his own, 




A SQUATTER VILLAGE. 



within an arrow's flight of Madison Park, lived a middle-aged man in 
1861, whose childhood was thus spent among the former squatters in that 
quarter, 

"Jones's "Woods," formerly occupying the space between the Third 
Avenue and the East River, and Sixtieth and Eightieth Streets, are 
rapidly disappearing. Streets have been cut through them, clearings for 
buildings have been made, and that splendid grove of old forest trees a 
few years ago, has been changed to clumps, giving shade to lai'ge numbers 



THE HUDSON. 



401 



of pleasure-seekers during the hot months of summer, and the delightful 
weeks of early autumn. There, in profound retirement, in an elegant 
mansion on the bank of the East River, lived David Provoost, better 




PROVOOSTS TOMB— JONES'S \YOODS. 



known to the inhabitants of New York — more than a hundred years ago — 
as "Eeady-money Provoost." This title he acquired because of the 
sudden increase of his wealth by the illicit ti-ade in which some of the 

8 F 



402 



THE HUDSON. 



colonists were then engaged, in spite of the vigilance of the mother 
country. He married the widow of James Alexander, and mother of 
Lord Stirling, an eminent American officer in the old war for indepen- 
dence. In a family vault, cut in a rocky knoll at the request of his first 
wife, he was buried, and his remains were removed only when it was 
evident that they would no longer be respected by the Commissioner of 
Streets. It is now a dilapidated ruin near the foot of Seventy-first Street. 
The marble slab that he placed over the vault in memory of his wife (and 
which commemorates him also) lies neglected, over the broken walls.*' 
The fingers of destruction are busy there. 

The old Provoost mansion is gone, and with it has departed the quiet 
of the scene. Near its site, large assemblages of people listen to music, 
hold festivals, dance, partake of refreshments of almost every kind, and 
fill the air with the voices of mirth. The Germans, who love the open 
air, go thither in large numbers ; r.nd tents wherein lager bier is sold, form 
conspicuous objects in that still half sylvan retreat. There Blondiu 
walked his rope at fearful heights, among the tall tulip trees ; and there, 
in autumn, the young people may yet gather nuts from the hickory trees, 
and gorgeous leaves from the birch, the chestnut, and the maple. But 
half a decade will not pass, before "Jones's Woods" will be among the 
things that have passed away. 

A little beyond this, at Eighty- sixth Street, a road leads down to 
Aitoria Ferry, on the East Eivcr, a short distance below the mouth of 
the Harlem River. This is a great thoroughfare, as it leads to many 
lleasant residences on Long Island, and the delightful roads in that 
\icinity. Prom this ferry may be obtained a fine view of Mill Rock in 
the East River, Hallett's Point, the village of Astoria, and other places 
of interest in the vicinity of a dangerous whirlpool, named by the Dutch 
Ifelle-gat (Hell-hole), now called Hell-gate. It is no longer dangerous 
to navigators, the sunken rocks which formed the whirlpool having been 
leniovcd in 1852, by submarine blasting, in which electricity was em- 



Tic tilab bears 'lie fdlow injr inscriplii n : '■ Joa.nnah Rykdees, who was the mcst loving wife of 
Kavi 1 Provoost. It was lier will to be interred in lliis hill. Obitus 8 Xember, 1749, aged 43 years." 
"Sacrea to the memory of David Pkovcost, vho died Oct. 19th, 17S1, aged 90 yem-s." 



THE HUDSON. 



403 



ployed. This is an interesting historic locality. Here the town records 
of Newport, Rhode Island, carried away by Sir Henry Clinton, were 
submerged in 1779, when the British vessel that bore them was wrecked 
near the vortex. They were recovered. Hero, during the revolution, 
the British frigate Huzzar was wrecked, and sunk in deep water, having 
on board, it was believed, a large amount of specie, destined for the use 




VIEW NEAR HELL-GATE. 



of the British troops in America. On Mill Rock, a strong block-house 
was erected during the war of 1812; and on Hallett's Point, a military 
work called Fort Stevens was constructed at the same time. 

Near Hell-gate the Harlem River enters the East River, and not far 
distant are Ward's and Randall's Islands. These belong to the corpora- 
tion of New York. The former contains a spacious emigrants' hospital, 



404 



THE HUDSON. 



and the latter nursery schools for poor children, and a penal house of 
refuge for juvenile delinquents. This is a delightful portion of the East 
Eiver, and here the lover of sport may find good fishing at proper seasons. 

"Ward's Island contains about 200 acres, and lies in the East Eiver, 
from One Hundred and First to One Hundred and Fifteenth Streets 
inclusive. The Indians called it Ten-Tcen-as. It was purchased from 
them by First Director Yan Twilles, in 1637. A portion of the island is 
a potter's field, where about 2,500 of the poor and strangers are buried 
annually. The island is supplied with Croton water. A ferry connects 
it with the city at One Hundred and Sixth Street. Randall's Island, 
nearly north from Ward's, close by the "Westchester shore, was the resi- 
dence of Jonathan Eandall for almost fifty years ; he purchased it in 1754. 
It has been called, at different times. Little Barn Island, Belle Isle, 
Talbot's Island, and Montressor's Island. The city purchased it, in 1835, 
for 50,000 dollars. The House of Eefuge is on the southern part of the 
island, opposite One Hundred and Seventeenth Street. There youthful 
criminals are kept free from the contaminating influence of old ofi'enders, 
are taught useful trades, and are continually subjected to reforming 
influences. Good homes are furnished them when they leave the institu- 
tion, and in this way the children of depraved parents who have entered 
upon a career of crime, have their feet set in the paths of virtue, usefulness, 
and honour.] 

Near the southern border of "Jones's "Woods" is "The Coloured 
Home," where the indigent, sick, and infirm of African blood have their 
physical, moral, and religious wants supplied. It is managed by an 
association of women, and is sustained by the willing hands of the 
benevolent. 

A little farther south, on the high bank of the East Eiver, at Fifty- 
first Street, is the ancient family mansion of a branch of the Beekman 
family, whose ancestor accompanied Governor Stuyvesant to New 
Amsterdam, now New York. There General Howe made his head- 
quarters after the battle on Long Island and his invasion of New York, 
in 1776; and there he was made Sir William Howe, because of those 
events, by knightly ceremonies performed by brother officers, at the com- 
mand of the king. Captain Nathan Hale, the spy, whose case and Major 



I 



THE HUDSON. 405 



Andre's have been compared, was brought before General Howe at this 
place soon after his arrest. He was confined during the night in the 
conservatory, and the next morning, without even the form of a trial, 
was handed over to Cunningham, the inhuman provost marshal, who 
hanged him upon an apple-tree, under circumstances of peculiar cruelty. 
The act was intended to strike the minds of the Americans with terror ; 
it only served to exasperate and strengthen them.*' 

The old Eeekman mansion, with its rural surroundings, remained unin- 
vaded by the Commissioner of Streets until about ten years ago, I re- 
member with pleasure a part of the day that I spent there with the 
hospitable owner. Then there were fine lawns, with grand old trees, 
blooming gardens, the spacious conservatory in which Hale was confined, 
and an ancient sun-dial that had marked the hours for a century. Over 
the elaborately- wrought chimney-pieces in the drawing-room were the 
arms of the Beekman family ; and in an outhouse was a coach bearing 
the same arms, that belonged to the first proprietor of the mansion. It 
was a fine old relic of New York aristocracy a hundred years ago, and 
one of only three or four coaches owned in the city at that time. Such 
was the prejudice against the name of coach — a sure sign of aristocracy — 
that Robert Murray, a wealthy Quaker merchant, called his "a leathern 
conveniency." But the beauty of the Beekman homestead has departed ; 
the ground is reticulated by streets and avenues, and the mansion is left 
alone in its glory. 

Directly opposite to the Beekman mansion is the lower end of Blackwell's 
Island, a narrow strip of land in the East River, extending to Eighty- 
eighth Street, and containing 120 acres. Beyond it is seen the pretty 
village of Ravenswood, on the Long Island shore. The Indians called 
Blackwell's Island Min-na-han-nock. It was also named Manning Island, 
having been owned by Captain John Manning, who, in 1672, betrayed 



* Nathan Hale was an exemplary young man, of a good Connecticut family. Washington was 
anxious to ascertain the exact position and condition of the British aiToy on Long Island, and Hale 
volunteered to obtain it. He was an-ested, and consigned to Cunningham for execution. He was 
refused the services of a clergj'man and the use of a Bible, and letters that he wrote during the night 
to his mother and sisters were destroyed by the inhuman marshal. His last words were,— " I only 
regret that I have but one life to give to my country." 



406 



THE HUDSON. 



the fort at 'New York into the hands of the Dutch.* In 1828 it was 
purchased by the city of 'Hew York, of Joseph Blackwell, and appropriated 
to public uses. Upon it are situated the almshouse, almshouse hospital, 
penitentiary hospital. New York city small-pox hospital, workhouse, city 
penitentiary, and New York lunatic asylum. These are under the supcr- 




THE BEEKMAN MAI^SION. 



vision of a board of ten governors. There is a free ferry to the island, at 
the foot of Sixty-first Street. 

Turtle Bay, at Forty-seventh Street — from the southern border of 



* Manning was bribed to commit the treason. He escaped punislunent tlu-ougli the intervention ot 
his king, Charles 11., who, it was believed, shared in the bribe. 



THE HUDSON. 



407 



which our sketch of Blackwcll's Ishuid was taken — Avas a theatre of some 
stirring scenes during the revolution. Until within a few years it re- 
mained in its primitive condition — a sheltered cove with a gravelly beach, 
and high rocky shores covered with trees and shrubbery. Here the 
British government had a magazine of military stores, and these the Sons 
of Liberty, as the early Republicans were calleel, determined to seize, in 



laSJ^swisfcm': 




July, 1775. A party, under the direction of active members of that 
association, proceeded stealthily by water, in the evening, from Greenwich, 
Connecticut, passed the dangerous vortex of Hell-gate at twilight, and at 
midnight surprised and captured the guard, and seized the stores. The 
oil storehouse in which they were deposited was yet standing, in 1861, 
a venerable relic of the past among the busy scenes of the present. 



408 



THE HUDSON. 



At Turtle Bay we fairly meet the city in it3 gradual movement along 
the shores of the East River. Eclow this point almost every relic of the 
past, in Nature and Art, has been swept away by pick and powder ; and 
wharves, store-houses, manufactories, and dwellings, are occupying places 
where, only a few years ago, were pleasant country seats, far away from 
the noise of the town. Our ride in this direction will, therefore, have no 
special attractions, so let us turn towards the Hudson again, and visit 
some points of interest in the central and lower portions of the island 
within the limits of the regulated streets. The allotted space allows us 
to take only glimpses at some of the most prominent points and objects. 




The great distributing reservoir of the Croton water, upon Murray 
Hill, between Fortieth and Forty-second Streets, and Fifth and Sixth 
Avenues, challenges our attention and admiration. Up to and beyond 
this point the Fifth Avenue — the street of magnificent palatial residences 
— is completed, scarcely a vacant lot remaining upon its borders. The 
reservoir stands in solemn and marked contrast to these ornamental struc- 



THE HUDSON. 



409 



tures, and rich and gay accompaniments. Its walls, in Egyptian stylo, 
are of dark granite, and average forty-fonr feet in height above the 
adjacent streets. Upon the top of the wall, which is reached by massive 
steps, is a broad promenade, from which may be obtained very extensive 
vie^vs of the city and the surrounding country. This is made secure by a 




Illltl 




^4\W"''%*' 



FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL, MADISOX PARK. 



strong battlement of granite on the outside, and next to the water by an 
iron fence. 

The reservoir covers an area of two acres, and its tank capacity is over 
twenty millions of gallons. The water was first let into it on the 4th of 
July, 1842. On the 14th of October following it was distributed over 
the town, and the event was celebrated on that day by an immense 

.3 G 



410 



THE HUDSON. 



military and civic procession. Such a display liad never been seen in 
New York since the mingling of the waters of the Great Lake and the 
Hudson River, through the Erie Canal, was celebrated in 1825. 

At the request of the Corporation of the City of New York, George P. 
Morris wrote the following Ode, which was sung near the fountain then 
playing in the City Hall Park, by the members of the New York Sacred 
Music Society : — 

THE CROTON ODE. 



Gashing from this living fountain, 

JIusic pours a falling strain. 
Ad the goddess of llie mountain 

Comes with all her sparkling train. 
From her grotto springs advancing, 

Glittering in her featheiy spray. 
Woodland fays beside her dancing, 

She pursues her winding waj'. 



tiently o'er the rippling water, 

In her coral shallop bright, 
Glides th6 rock-kings dove-eyed daughter, 

Decked in robes of virgin white. 
Nymphs and Naiads sweetly smiling. 

Urge her bark with pearly iiand, 
Merrily the sylph beguil-ig 

From the nooks of fairy-land. 



Swimming on the snow-curled billow. 

See the river spirits fair 
Lay their cheeks, as on a pillow. 

With the foam-beads in their hair. 
Thus attended, hither wending, 

Floats the lovely Oread now, 
Eden's arch of promise bending 

Over her translucent brow. 



t 



IV. 

Hail the wanderer from a far land ! 

Bind her flowing tresses up ! 
Crown her with a fadeless garland, 

And with crystal brim the cup ; 
From her haunts of deep seclusion, 

Let Intemperance greet her too, 
And the heat of his delusion 

Sprinkle with this mountain-dew. 



THE HUDSON. 411 



Water leaps as if delighted, 

While her conquered foes retire 1 
I'alc Contagion Hies affrighted 

With the baffled demon Fire ! 
Safety dwells in her dominions, 

Health and Beauty with her move, 
And entwine their circling pinions 

In a sisterhood of love. 



Water shouts a glad hosanna! 

Bubbles up the earth to bless ! 
Cheers it like the precious manna 

In the barren wilderness. 
Here we wondering gaze, assembled 

Like the grateful Hebrew band, 
■\Mien the hidden fountain trembled, 

And obeyed the prophet's wand. 



Round the aqueducts of story. 

As the mists of Lethe throng, 
Crofon's waves in all their glory 

Troop in melody along. 
Ever sparkling, bright, and single. 

Will this rock-ribbed stream appear, 
When posterity shall mingle 

Like the gathered waters here. 



The waters of the Croton flow from the dam to the distributing reser- 
voir, forty miles and a half, through a covered canal, made of stone and 
brick, at an average depth of 2i feet. The usual flow is about 30,000,000 
of gallons a day; its capacity is 60,000,000. It passes through sixteen 
tunnels in rock, varying from 160 to 1,263 feet. In Westchester county 
it crosses twenty-five streams, from 12 to 70 feet below the line of grade, 
besides numerous small brooks furnished with culverts. After crossing 
the Harlem River over the high bridge already described, it passes the 
Manhattan valley by an inverted siphon of iron pipes, 4, 180 feet in length, 
and the Clendening valley on an aqueduct 1,900 feet. It then enters 
the first receiving reservoir, now in the Central Park, which has a capacity 
of 150,000,000 gallons. In a hygienic and economic view, the importance 
of this great work cannot be estimated ; in insurance alone it caused the 
reduction of 40 cents on every 100 dollars in the annual rates. It is 
estimated that the capacity of the Croton River is sufficient to supply the 



412 



THE HUDSON. 



city with a population of 5,000,000. The ridge line, or water-shed, en- 
closing the Croton valley above the dam, is 101 miles in length. The 
stream is 39 miles in length, and its tributaries 136 miles.* The total 
area of the valley is 352 square miles ; within it are thirty-one natural 
lakes and ponds. 

From tlic reservoir wo ride down Fifth Avenue, the chief fashionable 




WORTH'S M0NUMEN1 



quarter of the metropolis. For two miles we may pass between houses 
of the most costly description, built chiefly of brown freestone, some of it 



i 



* The principal one of the remote sources of the Croton Eiver is a spring near the road side, not far 
from the liouse of William Hoag, on Quaker Hill, in the town of Pawling. The spring is by the side of 
a stone fence, with a barrel-curb, and is 1,300 feet above tide water. 



THE HUDSON. 413 



elaborately carved. Travellers agree that in no city in the world can be 
found an equal number of really splendid mansions in a single street ; 
they are furnished, also, in princely style. The side-walks are flagged 
Avith heavy blue stone, or granite, and the street is paved with blocks of 
the latter materiaL At Madison Square, between Twenty-third and 
Twenty-sixth Streets, it is crossed diagonally by Broadway, and there, as 
an exception, are a few business establishments. At the intersection, and 
fronting Madison Park, is the magnificent Fifth Avenue Hotel, built of 
white marble, and said to be the largest and most elegant in the world. 
As wo look up from near the St. Germain, this immense hoixsc, six stories 
in height, is seen on the left, and the trees of Madison Park on the right. 
In the middle distance is the "Worth House, a large private boarding 
establishment, and near it the granite monument erected by the city of 
New York to the memory of the late General William J. "Worth, of the 
United States army. 

This is the only public monument in the city of New "York, except a 
mural one to the memory of General Montgomery, in the front wall of 
St. Paul's Church. It is of Quincy granite ; the apex is fifty-one feet 
from the ground, and the smooth surface of the shaft is broken by raised 
bands, on which are the names of the battles in which General Worth 
had been engaged. On the lower section of the shaft are representations 
of military trophies in relief. General Worth was an aide-de-camp of 
General Scott in the battles of Chippewa and Niagara, in the summer of 
1814, and went through the war with Mexico with distinction. His 
name holds an honourable place among the military heroes of his country. 
The monument was erected in 1858. 



CHAPTER XXII. 




jij OWN Broadway, a few streets below the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel, is Union Park, whose form is an ellipse. It 
is at the head of Old Broadway, at Fourteenth Street, 
■^' and is at such an elevation that the Hudson and East 
Eivers may both be seen by a spectator on its 
Fourteenth Street front. It is a small enclosure, with a large 
fountain, and pleasantly shaded with young trees. Only a few 
years ago this vicinity was an open common, and where Union 
Park is was a high hill. On its northern side is the Everett 
House, a large, first-class hotel, named in honour of Edward 
Everett, the American scholar and statesman, who represented his country 
at the Court of St. James's a few years ago. On its southern side is the 
Union Park Hotel, and around it are houses that were first-class a dozen 
years ago. In one of the four triangles outside the square is a bronze 
equestrian statue of Washington, by H. K. Brown, an American sculptor, 
standing upon a high granite pedestal, surrounded by heavy iron railings. 
This is the only public statue in the city of New York, if we except a small 
sandstone one in the City Hall Park, and a marble one of William Pitt, 
at the corner of Franklin Street and West Broadway, which stood at the 
junction of Wall and William Streets, when the old war for independence 
broke out. The latter is only a torso, the head and arms having been 
broken off by the British soldiery after Sir William Howe took possession 
of the city in the autumn of 1776.*' In our little picture we look up the 
Fourth Avenue, Avhich extends to Harlem, and from which proceed two 
great railways, namely, the Harlem, leading to Albany, and the New 
Haven, that connects with all the railways in New England. On the 
left, by the side of Union Park, is seen a marquee, the head-quarters of 



I 



This broken statue has disappeared since the above was written. 



THE HUDSON. 



415 



a regiment of Zouave volunteers for the United States army. These 
signs of war might then be seen in all parts of the city. 

Let us turn here and ride through broad Fourteenth Street, towards 
the East River, passing the Opera House on the way. "We are going to 
visit the oldest living thing in the city of New York, — an ancient pear- 
tree, at the corner of Thirteenth Street and Third Avenue. It was 




rXIOX PARI, 



brought from Holland by Peter Stuyvcsant, the last and most renowned 
of the governors of New Netherland (New York) while it belonged to the 
Dutch. Stuyvesant brought the tree from Holland, and planted it in his 
garden in the year 1647. I believe it was never known to fail in bear- 
ing fruit. Many of the pears have been preserved in liquor as curiosities. 



416 



THE HUDSON. 



and many a twig has left the parent stem for transplantation in far distant 
soil. The tree seems to have vigour enough to last another century. 

Stuyvesant's dwelling, upon his "Bowerie estate," was near the present 
St. Mark's Church, Tenth Street, and Second Avenue. It was built of 
small yellow brick, imported from Holland. To this secluded spot he 
retired when he was compelled to surrender the city and province to the 




STUVVESANT PEAK TEEE. 



English, in 1664. There he lived with his family for eighteen years, 
employed in agricultural pursuits. He built a chapel, at his own cost, on 
the site of St. Mark's, and in a vault within it he was buried. The slab 
of brown freestone that covered it, and which now occupies a place in 
the rear wall of St. Mark's, bears the following inscription: — "lu this 
vault lies Peteus Stuyvesant, late Captain-General and Commander-in- 



THE HUDSON. 



417 



chief of Amsterdam, in New Netherlands, now called JSTew York, and the 
Dutch West India Islands. Died, August, a.d. 1682, aged eighty 
years." •••' 

St. Mark's Church, seen on the left in our little sketch, now ranks 
among the older church edifices in the city. It was built in 1799, and 
several of the descendants of Peter Stuyvesant have been, and still are, 
members of the congregation. When erected, it was more than a mile 
from the city, in the midst of pleasant 

country seats. The old Stuyvesant ^^ ^^^^^^^ii=E^-= 

mansion was yet standing, and the 
" Bowery Lane " (now the broad 
street called the Bowery), and the ohl 
Boston Port road, were the nearest 
liighways. Near it, on the Second 
Avenue, is seen a Gothic edifice — the 
Baptist Tabernacle — by the side of 
which is a square building of drab 
freestone, belonging to the New York 
Historical Society. The latter is one 
of the most flourishing and important 

associations in New York, and numbers among its membership — resident, 
corresponding, and honorary — many of the best minds in America and 
Europe. It has a very large and valuable library, and an immense 
collection of manuscripts and rare things ; also the entire collection of 
Egyptian antiquities brought to the United States by the late Dr. Abbott, 
several marbles from Nineveh, and a choice gallery of pictures, chiefly by 
American artists. f 




stuyvesant's house. 



* Peter Stuj-vesant was a native of Holland : he was bred to the art of war, and had been in public 
life, as Governor of C»ra9oa, before he assumed the government of New Netherlands. He was a man 
of dignity, honest and true. He was energetic, aristocratic, and overbeai'ing. His deportment made 
liim unpopular with the people, yet liis services were of vastly more value to them and the province than 
those of any of his predecessors. He was " Peter the Headstrong " in Knickerbocker's burlesque history 
of New York, -WTitten by Irving, who describes him as a man "of such immense activity and decision 
of mind, that he never sought nor accepted the advice of others." . ..." A tough, sturdy, valiant, 
weather-beaten, mettlesome, obstinate, leather-sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited old governor." 

t The New York Historical Society was organised in December, 1S04. Its fire-proof building, in 
which its collections are deposited, was completed in the autumn of 18.57. 



3 H 



418 



THE HUDSON. 



In a cluster, a short distance from St. Mark's, are the Bible House, 
Cooper Institute, Clinton Hall, and Astor Library,*'' places which intel- 
lio-ent strangers in the city should not pass by. The first three are seen 




ST. mark's church and historical society house. 
in our sketch, the Eible House on the right, the Cooper Institute on 



* The New York Society Library, in University Place, is the oldest public library in the United 
States. It was incorporated in the year 1700, under the title of " The PubUc Library of New York." 
Its name was changed to its present one in 1754. It contains almost 50,000 volumes. 



THE HUDSON. 



419 



the k'ft, and Clinton Hall in the distance. The open area is Astor 
Place. 

The Bible Honse occupies a whole block or square. It belongs to the 
American Bible Society. A large portion of the building is devoted to 
the business of the association. Blank paper is delivered to the presses 
in the sixth story, and proceeds downwards through regular stages of 









IBLE HOrSE, COOPEE INSTITUTE, AND CLINTON HALL. 



manufacture, until it reaches the depository for distribution on the ground 
floor, in the form of finished books. A large number of religious and 
kindred societies have offices in this building. 

The Cooper Institute is the pride of New York, for it is the creation of 
a single New York merchant, Peter Cooper, Esq. The building, of 
brown freestone, occupies an entire block or square, and cost over 



420 THE HUDSON. 



300,000 dollars. The primary object of the founder is the advancement 
of science, and knowledge of the useful arts, and to this end all the 
interior arrangements of the edifice were made. "When it was completed, 
Mr. Cooper formally conveyed the whole property to trustees, to be 
devoted to the public good.^' By his munificence, benevolence, and 
wisdom displayed in this gift to his countrymen, Mr. Cooper takes rank 
among the great benefactors of mankind. 

Clinton Hall belongs to the Mercantile Library Association, which is 
composed chiefly of merchants and merchants' clerks. It has a member- 
ship of between four and five thousand persons, and a library of nearly 
seventy thousand volumes. The building was formerly the Astor Place 
Opera House, and in the open space around it occurred the memorable 
riot occasioned by the quarrel between Porrest and Macready, to which 
allusion has been made. 

xS^car Astor Place, on Lafayette Place, is the Astor Library, created by 
the munificence of the American Croesus, John Jacob Astor, who 
bequeathed for the purpose 400,000 dollars. The building (made larger 
than at first designed, by the liberality of the son of the founder, and 
chief inheritor of his property) is capable of holding 200,000 volumes. 
More than half that number are there now. The building occupies a 
portion of the once celebrated Vauxhall Gardens, a place of amusement 
thirty years ago. 

Let us now ride down the Bowery, the broadest street in the city, and 
lined almost wholly with small retail shops. It leads us to Franklin 
Square, a small triangular space at the junction of Pearl and Cherry 
Streets. This, in the " olden time," was the fashionable quarter of the 
city, and was remarkable first for the great "Walton House, and a little 
later as the vicinity of the residence of "Washington during the first year 
of his administration as first President of the United States. That 
building was 'No. 10, Cherry Street. By the demolition of some houses 



* Tlie chief operations of tile Institute (which Mr. Cooper calls "The Union") are free inslniction 
of classes in science and the useful arts, and free lectures. The first and second stories are rented, the 
proceeds of which are devoted to defraying the expenses of the establishment. In tlie basement is a 
lecture-room 125 feet bj' 82 feet, and 21 feet in height. The three upper stories are arranged for 
purposes of instruction. There is a large hall, with a gallerj-, designed for a free Public Exchange. 



THE HUDSON. 



421 



between it and Franklin Square, it formed a front on that open space. 
In 1856, the Bowery was continued from Chatham Square to Franklin 
Square, when this and adjacent buildings were demolished, and larger 
edifices erected on their sites. There Washington held his first levees, 
and there Mr. Hammond, the first resident minister from England sent to 
the new llepublic, was received by the chief magistrate of the Eepublic. 




WASHINGTON'S RESIDENCE AS IT APPEASED IN 1850. 

The chief attraction to the stranger at Franklin Square at the present 
time, is the extensive printing and publishing house of Harper and 

BROXnERS. 

The Walton House, now essentially changed in appearance, was by far 
the finest specimen of domestic architecture in the city or its suburbs. 



422 



THE HUDSON. 



It stood alone, in the midst of trees and shrubbery, with, a beautiful 
garden covering the slope between it and the East river. It was built 
by a wealthy shipowner, a brother of Admiral Walton, of the British 
navy, in pure English style. It attracted great attention. A lately- 
deceased resident of "New York once informed mc, that when he was a 
schoolboy and lived in "Wall Street, he was frequently rewarded for good 
behaviour, by permission to "go out on Saturday afternoon to see Master 
Walton's grand house." The family arms, carved in wood, remained 
over the street door until 1850. It was a place of great resort for the 
British officers during the war for independence ; and there William IV., 
then a midshipman under Admiral Digby, was entertained with the 
courtesy due to a prince. 

On the site of the residence of Walter Eranklin, a Quaker and wealthy 
merchant, whose name the locality commemorates, stand the Harpers' 
magnificent structures of brick and iron (the front all iron), which soon 
arose from the ashes of their old establishment, consumed near the close 
of 1853. There are two buildings, the rear one fronting on Cliff Street. 
The latter is seven stories in height, and the one on Franklin Square six 
stories, exclusive of the basements and sub-cellars. Between them is a 
court, in which is a lofty brick tower, with an interior spiral staircase. 
Erom this iron bridges extend to the different stories. The buildings are 
almost perfectly fire-proof. It is the largest establishment of its kind in 
the United States. Over six hundred persons are usually employed in it. 
It was founded nearly fifty years ago, by two of the four brothers who 
compose the firm. They are all yet (1866) actively engaged in the 
management of the affairs of the house, with several of their sons, and 
may be found during business hours, ever ready to extend the hand of 
cordial welcome to strangers, and to give them the opportunity to see the 
operation of book-making in all its departments, and in the greatest 
perfection. 

On our way from Eranklin Square to the Hudson, by the most direct 
route, we cross the City Hall Park, which was known a century ago as 
" The Fields." It was then an open common on the northern border of 
the city, at "the Forks of the Broadway." It is triangular in form. 
The great thoroughfare of Broadway is on its western side, and the City 



THE HUDSON. 



423 



Hall, a spacious edifice of white marble, stands in its centre. K"ear its 
southern end is a large fountain of Croton water. On its eastern side 
was a declivity overlooking " Beekman's Swamp." That section of the 
city is still known as "The Swamp" — the great leather mart of the 
metropolis. On the brow of that declivity, where Tammany Hall now 
stands, Jacob Leisler, "the people's governor," when James II. left the 




FEANKLIN SQUAEE. 



English throne and William of Orange ascended it, was hanged, having 
been convicted on the false accusation of being a disloyal usurper. He was 
the victim of a jealous and corrupt aristocracy, and was the first and last 
man ever put to death for treason alone within the domain of the United 
States down to the close of the Civil War in 18G5. 



424 



THE HUDSON. 



"When the war for independence was kindling, the Field became the 
theatre of many stirring scenes. There the inhabitants assembled to hear 
the harangues of political leaders and pass resolves: there "liberty poles" 
were erected and prostrated ; and there soldiers and people had collisions. 
There obnoxious men were hung in effigy ; and there at six o'clock in the 



'if 








BROADWAY AT ST. PAUL'S. 



evening of a sultry day in July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence 
was read to one of the brigades of the Continental Army, then in the city 
under the command of Washington. 

The vicinity of the lower or southern end of the park has ever been a 



THE HUDSON. 



425 



point of much interest. On the site of Barnum's Museum,^' the " Sons of 
Liberty" in New York — the ultra-republicans before the revolution — had 
a meeting-place, called " Hampden Hall." Opposite was St. Paul's 
Church, a chapel of Trinity Church ; where, in after years, when the 
objects for which the "Sons of Liberty" had been organised were 
accomplished, namely, the independence of the colonies, the Te Deum 
Laudamus was sung by a vast multitude, on the occasion of the inaugura- 
tion of Washington (who was present), as the first chief magistrate of the 
United States. There it yet stands, on the most crowded portion of 
Broadway (where various omnibus lines meet), a venerable relic of the 
past, clustered with important and interesting associations. Around it 
are the graves of the dead of several generations. Under its great front 
window is a mural monument erected to the memory of General 
Montgomery, who fell at the siege of Quebec, in 1775 : and a few feet 
f.om its venerable walls is a marble obelisk, standing at the grave of 
Thomas Addis Emmet, brother of, and co-worker with the eminent Robert 
Emmet, who perished on the scaffold during the uprising of the Irish 
people against the British government, in 1798. 

Passing down Broadway, we soon reach Trinity Church, founded at 
the close of the seventeenth century. The present is the fourth edifice, 
on the same site. Soon after the British army took possession of New 
York, in September, 1776, a fire broke out in the lower part of the town. 
Five hundred edifices were consumed — an eighth of all that were in the 
city. Trinity Church (the second edifice) was among the number 
destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1788, and taken down in 1839. The 
present fine building was then commenced, and was completed in 1843. 
Within the burial-ground around the church, and the most conspicuous 
object there, is the magnificent brown freestone monument, erected by 
order of the vestry, in 1852, and dedicated as "Sacred to the Memory," 
as an inscription upon it says, " of those brave and good men who died, 
whilst imprisoned in the city, for their devotion to the cause of American 
Independence." Hereby is indicated a great change, wrought by time. 



* The Museum building (seen opposite St. Paul's in the picture), with all its contents, was destroyed 
by fire in 18(35. 



3 I 



426 



THE HUDSON. 



When these "brave and good men" were in prison, one of their most 
unrelenting foes was Dr. Inglis, the Eector of Trinity, because they were 
"devoted to the cause of American Independence."* The church fronts 
Wall Street, the site of the wooden palisades or wall that extended from 
the Hudson to the East Eiver, across the island, when it belonged to the 




SOLIHERS' MONUMENT IN TEIKITi' CIIUKCHYAED. 

Dutch. Here we enter the ancient domain of New Amsterdam, a city 
around which the mayor was required to walk every morning at sunrise. 



* Wlien Washington anived in New York with troops from Boston, in the spring of 1776, he occupied 
a house in Pearl Street, near Liberty, not far from Trinity Church. Being a communicant of the 
Churcli of England, he attended Divine service there. On Sunday morning, one of Washington's 
generals called on Dr. Inglis, and requested him to omit the violent prayer for the king and royal family. 
He paid no regard to it. He afterwards said to that officer, "It is in your power to shut up the churches, 
but you cannot make the clergy depart from their duty." Tlie prisoners alluded to in the inscription on 
the monument, were those who died in the old Sugar-houses of the city, which were used for hospitals. 
Many of them were buried in the north part of Trinity Chui-chyard. 



THE HUDSON. 



427 



unlock all the gates, and give the key to the commander of the fort. 
Such was New York two hundred years ago."' 

According to early accounts, New Amsterdam must have been a quaint 
old town in Stuyvesant's time, at about the middle of the seventeenth 
century. It was, in style, a reproduction of a Dutch village of that 
period, when modest brick mansions, with terraced gables fronting the 
street, were mingled with steep-roofed cottages with dormer windows in 
sides and gables. It was then compactly built. The area within the 
palisades was not large ; settlers in abundance came ; and for several years 
few ventured to dwell remote from the town, because of the hostile 
Indians, who swarmed in the surrounding forests. The toleration that, 
had made Holland an asylum for the oppressed, was practised here to its 
fullest extent. " Do you wish to buy a lot, build a house, and become a 
citizen?" was the usual question put to a stranger. His affirmative 
answer, with proofs of its sincerity, was a sufficient passport. They 
pryed not into private opinion or belief ; and bigotry could not take root 
and flourish in a soil so inimical to its growth. The inhabitants were 
industrious, thi'ifty, simple in manners and living, hospitable, neigh- 
bourly, and honest ; and all enjoyed as full a share of human happiness 
as a mild despotism would allow, until the interloping "Yankees " from 
the Puritan settlements, and the conquering, overbearing English, 



* The harbour of New York was discovered by Hudson in September, 1609. It is supposed to have 
been entered twenty-five years earlier, by Verrazani, a Florentine. Traders speedily came after the 
discovery was proclaimed, and established a trading-house at Albany. In 1*13, Captain Block buill a 
ship near the Bowling Green, to replace the one in 
which he sailed from Holland, and which was acci- 
dentally burnt. A Dutch West India Company was 
formed in 1621, with all the elementary powers of 
government. Their charter gave them territorial 
dominion, and the country, called New Netherland, 
was made a county of Holland. The seal bore the 
representation of a beaver rampant— an animal very 
valuable for its fur, and then abundant. The seal of 
the city of New York (seen in the engraving) has 
the beaver in one of its quartermgs. New Amster- 
dam remained in tlie possession of the Dutch until 
1664, when it was surrendered into the hands of the 
English, on demand being made, in the presence of 

numerous ships of war, laden with land troops. Then the name was changed from New Amsterdam to 
New Y'ork, in honour of James, Duke of York, afterwards James II., to whom the whole domain liad 
been granted by his profligate brother, King Charles. 




SEALS OF NEW . 



AND NEW YORK. 



428 



THE HUDSON. 



disturbed their repose, and made society alarmingly cosmopolitan. This 
feature increased with the lapse of time ; and now that little Dutch 
trading village two hundred years ago-grown into a vast commercial 
metropolis, and ranking among the most populous cities of the world- 
contains representatives of almost every nation on the face of the earth. 
Broadway, the famous street of commercial palaces, terminates at a 




DUTCH MANSION AND COTTAGE IN NEW AJISTEEDAM. 



shaded mall and green, called -The Battery," a name derived from 
fortifications that once existed there. The first fort erected on Manhattan 
Island, by the Dutch, was on the banks of the Hudson, at its mouth, in 
the rear of Trinity Church. The next was built upon the site of the 
Bowling Green, at the foot of Broadway. These were on eminences over- 



THE HUDSON. 



420 



looking the bay. The latter was a stronger work, and became permanent. 
It was called Fort Amsterdam. The palisades on the line of Wall Street 
(and which suggested its name) Avere of cedar, and were plaated in 1653, 
when an English invading force was expected. In 1692, the English, 
apprehensive of a French invasion, built a strong battery on a rocky point 
at the eastern end of the present Eattcry, at the foot of White Hall Street. 
Finally a stone fort, with four bastions, was erected. It covered a portion 
of the ground occupied by the Battery of to-day. It was called Fort 




hOiiccTipTajJiiJiYrr 




MJiMMiiiliiB^ 



THE BOWLING GREEN AND FOET GEORGE IN 1783.* 

George, in honour of the then reigning sovereign of England. Within its 
walls were the governor's house and most of the government offices. 

In the vicinity of the fort many stirring scenes were enacted when the 
old war for independence was kindling. Hostile demonstrations of the 
opponents of the famous Stamp Act of 1766 were made there. In front 



.* This little picture shows the appearance of the Bowling Green and its vicinity, soon after the close 
of the war for independence. Widiiu the enclosure is seen the pedestal on which stood the statue of 
the king. Near it, the Kenuedj- House, mentioned in the text, and beyond it, Fort George, the Bay of 
New York, Governor's Island, and the Narrows, on the left, and Staton Island bounding most of the 
horizon, in the distance. 



430 THE HUDSON. 



of the fort, Lieutenant-Governor Golden' s fine coach, his effigy, and the 
wooden railing around the Bowling Green, were made materials for a great 
bonfire by the mob. 

At the beginning of the war for independence, Fort George and its 
dependencies had three batteries, — one of four guns, near the Bowling 
Green ; another (the Grand Battery) of twenty guns, where the flag-staff 
on the Battery now stands ; and a third of two heavy guns at the foot of 
White Hall Street, called the White Hall Battery. Here the boldness of 
the Sons of Liberty was displayed at the opening of the revolution, by the 
removal of guns from the battery in the face of a cannonade from a British 
ship of war in the harbour. From here was witnessed, by a vast and 
jubilant crowd, the final departure of the British army, after the peace of 
1783, and the unfurling of the banner of the Republic from the flag-staff 
of Fort George, over which the British ensign had floated more than six 
years. The anniversary of that day — *' Evacuation Day " — (the 25th of 
November) is always celebrated in the city of New York by a military 
parade and feu dejoie. 

Fort George and its dependencies have long ago disappeared, but the 
ancient Bowling Green remains. An equestrian statue of George the 
Third, made of lead, and gilded, was placed upon a high pedestal, in the 
centre of it, in 1770. It was ordered by the Assembly of the province in 
1766, in token of gratitude for the repeal of the odious Stamp Act. The 
Green was then enclosed with an iron paling.* Only six years later, on 
the evening when the Declaration of Independence was read to Washing- 
ton's army in New York, soldiers and citizens joined in pulling down the 
statue of the king. The round heads of the iron fence-posts were 
knocked off for the use of the artillery, and the leaden statue of his 
Majesty was made into bullets for the use of the republican army. " His 
troops," said a writer of the day, referring to the king, " will probably 
have melted majesty fired at them." The pedestal of the statue, seen in 
the engraving, remained in the Bowling Green some time after the war; 



* This work of art was by Wilton, of London, and was the first equestriiin statue of his Majesty 
ever erected. Wilton made a curious omission— stirrups were wanting. It was a common remark of 
the Continental soldiers, that it was proper for " the tyrant " to ride a hard trotting horse without 



THE HUDSON. 



431 



and the old iron railing, with its decapitated posts, is still there. A 
fountain of Croton water occupies the site of the statue; and the 
surrounding disc of green sward, where the citizens amused themselves 
with howling, is now shaded by magnificent trees, 

Near the Bowling Green, across Eroadway (No. 1), is the Kennedy 




THE BOWLING GREEN IN ISfil. 



House, where "Washington and General Lee, and afterwards Sir Henry 
Clinton, Generals Eobertson and Carleton, and other British officers, had 
their head-quarters. It has been recently altered by an addition to its 
height. ■^'• 



* This house \ 
with the (laiighte 



as built by Captain Kennedy, of tlie Royal Navy, at about the time of 
of Peter Schuyler, of New Jersey, in 1765. 



432 



THE HUDSON. 



The present Battery or park, looking out upon the bay of ISTew York, 
was formed early in the present century ; and a castle, pierced for heavy 
guns, was erected near its western extremity. Por many years, the 
Battery was the chief and fashionable promenade for the citizens in summer 
weather ; and State Street, along its town border, was a very desirable 
place of residence. The castle was dismantled, and became a place of 




TIIR BATTERY AND CASTLE fiAEDEN. 



public amusement. For a long time it was known as Castle Garden ; but 
both are now deserted by fashion and the Muses. All of old New York 
has been converted into one vast business mart, and there are very few 
respectable residences within a mile of the Battery. At the present time 
(September, 1861), it exhibits a martial display. Its green sward is 



THE HUDSON. 



433 



covered with tents and barracks for the recruits of the Grand National 
Array of Volunteers, and its fine old trees give grateful shade to the 
newly-fledged soldiers preparing for the war for the Union. 

At White Hall, on the eastern border of the Battery, there was a great 
civic and military display, at the close of April, 1789, when Washington, 




\ '^ f-rr 



OLD FEDERAL HALL. 



coming to the seat of government to be inaugurated first President of the 
United States, landed there. He was received by officers and people with 
shouts of welcome, the strains of martial music, and the roar of cannon. 
He was then conducted to his residence on Franklin Square, and 
afterwards to the Old Federal Hall in Wall Street, where Congress held 
its sessions. It was at the corner of Wall and Nassau Streets, the site on 

3 K 



434 



THE HUDSON. 



which fine marble building was erected for a Custom House, and which 
is now used for the purposes of a branch Mint. In the gallery, in front 
of the hall, the President took the oath of office, administered by 
Chancellor Livingston, in the presence of a great assemblage of people who 
filled the street. 

The Hudson from the Battery, northward, is lined with continuous 
piers and slips, and exhibits the most animated scenes of commercial life. 
The same may be said of the East Eivcr for about an equal distance from 




HUDSON EIVKE STEAMERS LEAVING KEW YOKK. 



the Battery. Huge steam ferry-boats, magnificent passenger steamers, 
and freight barges, ocean steamships, and every variety of sailing vessel 
and other water craft may be seen in the Hudson Eiver slips, or out upon 
the bosom of the stream, fairly jostling each other near the wharves 
because of a lack of room. Upon every deck is seen busy men ; and the 
yo-heave-o ! is heard at the capstan on all sides. But the most animated 
scene of all is the departure of steamboats for places on the Hudson, from 
four to six o'clock each afternoon. The piers are filled with coaches. 



THE HUDSON. 435 



drays, carts, barrows, every kind of vehicle for passengers and light freight. 
Orange-women and news-boys assail you at every step with the cries of 
"Five nice oranges for a shilling!" — " 'Ere's the Evening Post and 
Express, third edition ! " whilst the hoarse voices of escaping waste-steam, 
and the discordant tintinnabulation of a score of bells, hurry on the 
laggards by warnings of the near approach of the hour of departure. 
Several bells suddenly cease, when from different slips, steamboats covered 
with passengers will shoot out like race-horses from their grooms, and 
turning their prows northward, begin the voyage with wonderful speed, 
some for the head of tide-water at Troy, others for intermediate towns, 
and others still for places so near that the vessels may be ranked as ferry- 
boats. The latter are usually of inferior size, but well appointed ; and at 
several stated hours of the day carry excursionists or country residents to 
the neighbouring villages. Let us consider a few of these places, on the 
western shore of the Hudson, which the stranger would find pleasant to 
visit because of the beauty or grandeur of the natural scenery, and historic 
associations. 

The most remote of the villages to which excursionists go is Nyack, 
opposite Tarrytown, nearly thirty miles from New York. It lies on the 
bank of the Hudson at the foot of the ISTyack Hills, which are broken 
ridges, extending several miles northward from the Palisades. Eack of 
the village, and along the river shore, arc fertile and well-cultivated 
!^lopes, where fruit is raised in abundance. On account of the salubrity 
of the climate, beautiful and romantic scenery, and good society, it is a 
very delightful place for a summer residence. From every point of view 
interesting landscapes meet the eye. The broad Tappan Sea is before it, 
and stretching along its shores for several miles are seen the towns, and 
villas, and rich farms of Westchester County. In its immediate vicinity 
the huntsman and fisherman may enjoy his favourite sport. In its 
southern suburbs is the spacious building of the Kockland Female 
Institute, seen in our sketch, in the midst of ten acres of land, and 
affording accommodation for one hundred pupils. During the ten weeks' 
summer vacation, it is used as a first-class boarding-house, under the 
title of the Tappan Zee House. 

About four miles below Nyack is Piermont, at which is the terminus of 



436 



THE HUDSON. 



the middle branch of the New York and Erie Eailway. The village is 
the child of that road, and its life depends mainly upon the sustenance it 
receives from it. The company has an iron foundry and extensive 
repairing shops there; and it is the chief freight depot of the road. Its 
name is derived from a pier which juts a mile into the river. From it 




freight is transferred to cars and barges. Tappantown, where Major 
Andre was executed, is about two miles from Piermont. 

A short distance below Piermont is Eockland, a post village of about 
three hundred inhabitants, pleasantly situated on the river, and flanked 
by high hills. Here the Palisades proper have their northern termination ; 
and from here to Fort Lee the columnar range is almost unbroken. This 
place is better known as Sneeden's Landing. Here Cornwallis and six 



THE HUDSON. 437 



thousand British troops lauded, and marched upon Fort Lee, on the top of 
the Palisades, a few miles below, after the fall of Port Washington, in the 
autumn of 1776. 

One of the most interesting points on the west shore of the Hudson, 
near New York, and most resorted to, except Hoboken and its vicinity, is 
Port Lee. It is within the domain of "New Jersey. The dividing line 
between that State and New York is a short distance below Eockland or 
Sneeden's Landing; and it is only the distance between theie and its 
mouth (about twenty miles) that the Hudson washes any soil but that of 
the State of New York. 

The village of Port Lee is situated at the foot of the Palisades. A 
winding road passes from it to the top of the declivity, through a deep, 
wooded ravine. The site of the fort is on the left of the head of the 
ravine, in the ascent, and is now marked by only a few mounds and a 
venerable pine-tree just south of them, which tradition avers once 
sheltered the tent of Washington. As the great patriot never pitched his 
tent there, tradition is in error. Washington was at the fort a short time 
at the middle of November, 1776, while the combined British and Hessian 
forces were attacking Port Washington on the opposite shore. He saw 
the struggle of the garrison and its assailants, without ability to aid his 
friends. When the combat had continued a long time, he sent word to 
the commandant of the fort, that if he could hold out until night, he 
could bring the garrison off. The assailants were too powerful; and 
Washington, with Generals Greene, Mercer, and Putnam, and Thomas 
Paine, the influential political pamphleteer of the day, was a witness of 
the slaughter, and saw the red cross of St. George floating over the lost 
fortress, instead of the Union stripes which had been unfurled there a few 
months before. The title of Port Washington was changed to that of Port 
Knyphausen, in honour of the Hessian general who was engaged in its 
capture. Port Lee was speedily approached by the British under 
Cornwallis, and as speedily abandoned by the Americans. The latter fled 
to the Eepublican camp at Hackensack, when Washington commenced his 
famous retreat through New Jersey, from the Hudson to the Delaware, 
for the purpose of saving the menaced federal capital, Philadelphia. 

The view from the high point north of Port Lee is ext(.n?ivo and 



438 



THE HUDSON. 



interesting, up and down the river. Across are seen the villages of 
Carmansville and Manhattanville, and fine country seats near ; while 
southward, on the left, the citv of Xew York stretches into the dim 




VIE^\ FROM rOET LEE 



distance, with Stateu Island and the Narrows still beyond. On the 
right are the wooded cliffs extending to Hoboken, with the little villages 
of Pleasant Yallcy, Bull's Ferry, "Weehawk, and Hoboken, along the 
shore. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

^ EOUT three miles below Fort Lee is Bull's Ferry, 

a village of a few houses, and a great resort for 

the working-people of Xew York, when spending 

a leisure day. The steep, wooded bank rises 

abruptly in the rear, to an altitude of about two 

hundred feet. There, as at AVeehawk, are many 

pleasant paths through the woods leading to vistas 

through which glimpses of the city and adjacent waters arc 

obtained. Hither pie-nic parties come to spend warm summer 

days, where — 

'■ Overhead 
The braiu'hos arch, and ^hape a iileasant bower. 
Breaking white doud, blue sky, and sunsliiiie bright. 
Into iiure ivory and sapiihiro spots, 
And flocks of geld ; a soft, cool emerald tint 
Colours the air, as thonjrh the delicate leaves 
Emitted self-bprii liglit." 




Our little sketch of IjuH's Ferry is taken from Wcehawk Wharf, and 
sliows the point on which was a block-house during the revolution ; from 
tliat circumstance it has always been called lUock-house Point. Its 
history has a melancholy interest, as it is connected with that of the 
unfortunate Major Andre. In the summer of 1780, a few weeks before 
the discovery of Arnold's treason, that block-house was occupied by a 
Eiitish picket, for the protection of some woodcutters, and the neigh- 
bouring New Jersey loyalists. On iJergcn Keck below was a large 
number of cattle and horses, belonging to the Americans, within reach of 
the foragers who might go out from the British post at Paulus's Hook, 
now Jersey City. "Washington's head-quarters were then inhmd, near 
Eamapo. He sent General Wayne, with some Pennsylvanian and M^ary- 
land troops, horse and foot, to storm the block-house, and to drive the 



440 



THE HUDSON. 



cattle within the American lines. Wayne sent the cavalry, under Major 
Henry Lee, to perform the latter duty, whilst he and three Pennsylvanian 
reo-iments marched against the block-house with four pieces of cannon. 
They made a spirited attack, but their cannon were too light to be 
effective, and, after a skirmish, the Americans were repulsed with a loss 
of sixty men, killed and wounded. After burning some wood-boats near. 








bull's ferry. 



and capturing those who had them in charge, Wayne returned to camp 
with a large number of cattle driven by the dragoons. 

This event was the theme of a satirical poem, in three cantos, in the 
ballad style, written by Major Andre, and published in Eivington's^oy«Z 
Gazette, in the city of New York. The following is a correct copy, made 



THE HUDSON. 



441 



by the writer for his Pictorial Field Book of the Eevolutiox, in 1850, 
from an original in the hand-writing of Major Andre. It was written 
upon small folio paper. The poem is entitled 



THE cow CHASE. 
Canto I. 

To drive the kine one summer's n 
The tanner* took his way ; 

The calf shall rue, that is unborn, 
The yumbling of that day. 



And Wayne descending steers sliall know 

And tauntingly deride, 
And call to mind, in every low, 

The tanning of his liide. 

Yet IJergen cows still ruminate 

Unconscious in the stall, 
What mighty means were used to get 

And lose them after all. 

For many heroes bold and brave 

From New Bridge and Tapaan, 
And those that drink Passaic's wave, 

And those that eat soupaan ; t 

And sons of distant Delaware, 

And still remoter Shannon, 
And Major Lee with horses rare. 

And Proctor with his cannon ; t 

All wondrous proud in arms they cam? — 

What hero could refuse. 
To tread the rugged path to fame, 

Wlio had a pair of shoes ? 

At six the host, with sweating buff, 

Arrived at Freedom's Pole, 
When Wayne, who thought he'd time enough, 

Thus speechified the whole : 

' O ye whom glory doth unite. 

Who Freedom's cause espouse. 
Whether the wing that's doomed to fight, 

Or tliat to drive the cows ; 



* This is in allusion to the supposed business of General Wayne, in early life, who, it was said, was a 
tanner. He was a surveyor. 

t A common name for hasty-pudding, made of the meal of maize or Indian com. 

t Major Harry Lee was cormuander of a corps of light horseman, and Colonel Proctor was at the liead 
of a coq)s of artillery. 

3 L 



442 THE HUDSON. 



" Ere yet you tempt your further way, 

Or into action come, 
Hear, soldiers, what I have to say, 

And take a pint of rum. 

"Jntemp'rate valour then will string 
Each nervous arm the better, 

So all the land shall 10 ! sing, 
And read the gen'ral's letter. 

" Know that some paltry refugees, 

Whom I've a mind to tight, 
Are plajdngh— 1 among the trees 

That grow on yonder height. 

" Their fort and block-house we'll level. 
And deal a liorrid slaughter ; 

We'll drive the scoundrels to the devil. 
And ravish wife and daughter. 

" I under cover of tli' attack. 

Whilst you are all at blows. 
From English Neighborhood and Tinack 

Will drive away the cows. 

" For well you know the latter is 

The serious operation, 
And fighting with the refugees 

Is only demonstration.'' 

His daring words from all the crowd 
Such great applause did gain, 

That every man declai-ed aloud 
For serious work witli Wayne. 

Then from the cask of rum once more 

They took a heady gill, 
When one and all they loudly swore 

Tliey'd fight upon the hill. 

But here— the muse has not a strain 

Befitting such great deeds, 
" Hun-a," they cried, " liurra for Wapie ! 

And, shoutmg — did their needs. 



Canto II. 

Near his meridian ppmp, tlie sun 
Had journey'dfrom the horizon. 

When fierce the dusky tribe moved on. 
Of heroes chunlv as poison. 

The sounds confused of boasting oaths, 

Re-echoed through the wood. 
Some vow'd to sleep in dead men's clothes 

And some to swim in blood. 



i 



TOE HUDSON. 



443 



I 



At Irvine's nod,* 'twas fine to see 

Tlie left prepared to figlit, 
The while the drovers, Waj-ne and Lee, 

Drew off upon the right. 

Whiuli Irvine 'twas Fame don't relate, 
Kor can the Muse assist hei', 

Whether 'twas he that cocks a hat, 
Or he that gives a glister. 

For greatly one was signalised. 
That fouglit at Chestnut Hill, 

And Canada immortalised 
The vendor of the pill. 

Yet the attendance upon Proctor 
They both might have to boast of ; 

For there was business for the doctor. 
And hats to be disposed of. 

Let none uncandidly infer 
That Stirling wanted spunk, 

Tlio t^clf-niade peer had sure been theic 
13ut that the peer was drunk. t 

But turn we to the Hudson's banks, 
Where stood the modest train, 

With purpose firm, tliougli slender rank 
Nor cared a pin for Wayne. 

For then the unrelenting hand 

Of rebel fury drove, 
And tore from ev'ry genial band 

Of friendship and of love. 

And some within a dungeon's gloom. 

By mock tribunals laid. 
Had waited long a cruel doom, 

Impending o'er their heads. 

Here one bewails a brother's fate, 

'1 here one a sire demands, 
Cut off, alas ! before their date. 

By ignominious hands. 

And silver'd grandsires here appear'd 

In deep distress serene, 
Of reverend manners that declared 

The better days they'd seen. 

Oh ! cursed rebellion, these are thine, 
Thine are these tales of woe ; 

Shall at thy dire insatiate shrine 
Blood never cease to flow ? 



* General William Irvine, of Pennsylvania. 

t William Alexander, who unsuccessfully claimed the title of the Scotch Earl cf Stirling, 
believed that his claim was just, and he was generally called "Lord Stirling." 



444 THE HUDSON. 



And now the foe began to lead 

His forces to th' attack ; 
Balls whistling unto balls succeed, 

And make the block-house crack. 

No shot could pass, if you will take 

The gen'ral's word for true ; 
But 'tis a d— ble mistake. 

For ev'ry shot went through. 

The firmer as the rebels pressed, 

The loyal heroes stand ; 
Virtue had nei-ved each honest breast. 

And Industry each hand. 

In valour's frenzy, Hamilton 

Eode like a soldier big. 
And secretary Harrison, 

With pen stuck in his wig.* 

But, lest chieftain Washington 

Should mourn them in the mumps,t 

The fate of Withrington to shun, 
They fought behind the stmups. 

But ah! Thaddeus Posset, why 

Should thy poor soul elope ? 
And why should Titus Hooper die, 

Ah ! die— without a rope ? 

Apostate Murphy, tliou to whom 

Fair Shela ne'er was cruel ; 
In death shalt hear her mourn thy doom, 

Och ! would ye die, my jewel ? 

Thee, Nathan Pumpkin, I lament. 

Of melancholy fate. 
The gray goose, stolen as he went, 

In his heart's blood was wet. 

Now as the fight was further fought, 

And balls began to thicken. 
The fray assumed, the gen'rals thought. 

The colom- of a licking. 

Yet undismay'd the chiefs command, 

And, to redeem the day. 
Cry, " Soldiers, charge ! " they hear, they staiul 

They turn and run away. 

Cakto III. 

Not all delights the bloody spear, 

Or horrid din of battle. 
There are, I'm sure, who'd like to hear 

A word about the rattle. 



* Colonels Hamilton and Han-ison, of Washington's staff. 

t A painful swelling of the glands, then prevalent in the Republican ami)-. 



THE HUDSON. 



445 



The chief whom we beheld of late, 
Near Schralenberg haranguing, 

At Yan Van Poop's unconscious sat 
Of Irvine's hearty banging. 

Wliile valiant Lee, with courage wild, 

Most bravely did oppose 
Tlie tears of women and of child. 

Who begg'd he'd leave the cows. 



But Wayne, of sympathising heart, 

Kequired a relief, 
Not all the blessings could impart 

Of battle or of beef. 

For now a prey to female charms. 

His soul took more delight in 
A lovely Hamadrj'ad's arms 

Than cow driving or fighting. 

A nymph, the refugees had drove 

Tar from her native tree, 
Just happen'd to be on the move. 

When up came Wayne and Lee. 

She in mad Anthony's fierce eye 

The hero saw portray'd, 
And, all in tears, she took liim by 

—The bridle of his jade. 

"Hear," said the njTnph, "O great comman '.cr, 

No human lamentations, 
Tlie trees you see them cutting yonder 

Are all my near relations. 

" And I, forlorn, implore thine aid 

To free the sacred grove : 
So shall thy prowess be repaid 

With an immortal's love." 

Now some, to prove she was a goddess I 

Said this enchanting fair 
Had late retired from the Bodies,* 

In all the pomp of war. 

That drums and merry flfes had play'd 

To honour her retreat. 
And Cunningham himself convey'd 

The lady through the street. 

Great Wayne, by soft compassion sway' J, 

To no inquiry stoops. 
But takes the fair, afflictea maid 

Right into Yan Van Poop's. 



* A cant appellation given among the soldiery to the corps that had the honour to guard liis majesty' 
person. 



446 THE HUDSON. 



So Eoman Anthony, tliey say, 
Disgrar ed th' imperial banner. 

And for a gipsy lost a day, 
Like Anthony tlie tanner. 

The Hamadryad had but half 
Received redi-ess from Wayne, 

When drums and colours, cow and calf 
Came down the road amain. 

All in a cloud of dust were seen, 
The sheep, the horse, the goat. 

The gentle heifer, ass obscene, 
The yearling and the slioat. 

And pack-horses with fowls came liy, 

Befeathered on each side. 
Like Pegasus, the horse that I 

And other poets ride. 

Sublime upon the stirrups rose 

The mighty Lee behind. 
And drove the terror-smitten cows, 

Lilce chaff before the wind. 

But sudden see the woods above 

Pour down another corps, 
All belter skelter in a drove. 

Like that I sung before. 

Irvine and terror in the van, 

Came flying all abroad, 
And cannon, colours, horse, and man, 

Ban tumbUng to the road. 

Still as he Hed, 'twas Irvine's cry, 

And his example too, 
" Eun on, my meny men all— for why V 

The shot will not go through.* 

As when two kennels in the street, 

Swell'd with a recent rain, 
In gushing streams together meet. 

And seek the neighbouring drain ; 

So meet these dung-bom tribes in one, 

As swift in their career, 
And so to New Bridge they ran on — 

But all the cows got clear. 



Five refugees ('tis true) were found 

Stiff on the block-house floor, 
But then 'tis thought the shot went round, 

And in at the back door. 



THE HUDSON. 447 



Poor Parson Caldwell,* all in wonder, 

Saw the returning train, 
And mourn'd to Wayne the lack of plunder, 

For them to steal again. 

For 'twas his right to seize the spoil, and 
To share with each commander. 

As he had done at Staten Island 
With frost-bit Alexander.T 

In his dismay, the frantic priest 

Began to grow prophetic, 
You had swore, to see his lab'ring breast. 

He'd taken an emetic. 

" I view a future day," said he, 
" Brighter than this day dark is. 

And you shall see what you shall see. 
Ha! ha! one pretty marquis ;t 

" And he shall come to Paulus' Hook, 4 
And great achievements think on, 

And lyike a bow and take a look, 
Like Satan over Lincoln. 

" And all the land around shall glory 

To see the Frenchman caper. 
And pretty Susan tell the story 

In the next Chatham paper." 

This solenui prophecy, of course. 

Gave all much consolation, 
Except to Wayne, who lost his horse, 

Upon the great occasion : 

Hii horse that carried all his prog. 

His military speeches, 
His corn-stalk whisky for his grog — 

Blue stockings and brown breeches. 

And now I ve closed my epic strain, 

I tremble as I show it. 
Lest this same warrio-drover, Wayne, 

Should ever catch the poet. 



It has been remarked as a curious coincidence, that on the day when 
the last canto of the above poem was published in Rivington's Gazette, 
Major Andre was arrested; and that General Wayne, so ridiculed in it, 
and who is so peculiarly alluded to in the last stanza, was the commander 
of the military force from which was detailed the guard that accompanied 



• A patriotic preacher of the Gospel, at Elizabetlitown, New Jersey, wlio was afterwards murdered, 
t William Alexander, Lord Stuling. % The Marquis do Lafayette. § New Jersey city. 



448 



THE HUDSON. 



the gifted young officer to the scaffold. On the autograph copy from 
which I copied the poem, and which Andre dated " Elizabethtown [New 
Jersey], August 1, 1780," were the following lines: — 

" When this epic strain was sung, 
The poet by the neck was hung ; 
Anil to his cost he finds too kxtc, 
The ' dung-born tribe ' decides his fate." 

The next village below Bull's Ferry is Weehawk,^'' a place of great 




ULi-LLlNC, GKOLM)— ■V1E}•HA^^K 



resort in summer by pleasure seekers from the metropolis. It is made 



* Tills is an Indian word, and is thus spelt in its purity. The Dutch spelt It Wlehachan, and it is 
now commonly wi-itten Weehawken ; I Jiave adopted the ortliography that expresses the pure Indian 
pronunciation. 



THE HUDSON. 449 



famous by its connection with the duelling ground where General 
Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the Eepublic, was mortally 
wounded in single combat, by Aaron Burr, then Vice-President of the 
United States. They were bitter political foes. Without just provoca- 
tion, in the summer preceding an important election, Burr, anxious to 
have Hamilton out of his way, challenged him to fight. The latter, out 
of unnecessary respect for a barbarous public opinion, accepted the chal- 
lenge ; and early in the morning of the 11th of July, 1804, they and 
friends crossed the Hudson to Weehawk, and stood as foes upon the 
duelling ground. Hamilton was opposed to duelling ; and, pursuant to 
his previous resolution, did not fire his pistol. The malignant Burr took 
deliberate aim, and fired with fatal precision. Hamilton lived little more 
than thirty hours. His deatli produced the most profound grief through- 
out the nation. Burr lived more than thirty years, a fugitive, like Cain, 
and suffering the bitter scorn • of his countrymen. This crime, added to 
his known vices, made him thoroughly detested, and few men had the 
courage to avow themselves his friend. A monument was erected to the 
memory of Hamilton, on the spot where he fell. It was afterwards 
destroyed by some marauder. The place is now a rough one, on the 
margin of the river, and is marked by a rude arm-chair or sofa (seen in 
our sketch, in which we are looking up the river) made of stones. On 
one of them the half-effaced names of Hamilton and Burr may be seen. 

The next place of interest below Weehawk is that known in former 
times as the Elysian Fields. I remember it as a delightful retreat at 
" high noon," or by moonlight, for those who loved ligature in her quiet 
and simple forms. Then there were stately trees near the bank of the 
river, and from their shades the eye rested upon the busy surface of the 
stream, or the busier city beyond. There, on a warm summer afternoon, 
or a moonlit evening, might be seen scores of both sexes strolling upon 
the soft grass, or sitting upon the green sward, recalling to memory many 
beautiful sketches of life in the early periods of the world, given in the 
volumes of the old poets. All is now changed ; the trips of Charon to 
the Elysian Fields are suspended, and the grounds, stripped of many of 
the noble trees, have become "private," and subjected to the manipula- 
tions of the "real estate agent." Even the Sibyl's Cave, under Castle 

3 M 



450 




THE HUDSON. 




Point, 


at the southern boundary of the Elysian Fields — a cool, rocky 


cfivern 


containing 


1 spring — has been spoiled by 


the clumsy hand of Art. 


The 


low promontory below Castle Point was the site of the large 


1 

i 




^^^ ^^^^^^^^i^^^m^ 


Wt 


3 




^^ft ^H 


^Mj^y 






m n 


^j^^^B^ljfc' 






K"""-^- i 


'-«^l' 


^ 


^1 








VIEW AT THE ELYSIAN FIELDS. 




ladian village of Hohoclc. There the pleasant lil 


tie city of Iloboken now 


stands 


, and few of its quiet denizens are aware 


of the dreadful tragedy 


performed in that 


vicinity more than two hundrc 


d years ago. The story 



THE HUDSON. 451 



may be related in few words. A fierce feud had existed for some time 
between the New Jersey Indians and the Dutch on Manhattan. Several 
of the latter had been murdered by the former, and the Hollanders had 
resolved on vengeance. At length the fierce Mohawks, bent on procuring 
tribute from the weaker tribes westward of the Hudson, came sweeping 
down like a gale from the north, driving great numbers of fugitives upon 
the Hackcnsacks at Hobock. !N'ow was the opportunity for the Dutch. 
A strong body of them, with some Mohawks, crossed the Hudson at mid- 
night, in February, 1643, fell upon the unsuspecting Indians, and before 
morning murdered almost one hundred men, women, and children. Many 
were driven from the cliffs of Castle Point, and perished in the freezing 



1 



flood. At sunrise the murderers returned to New Amsterdam, with 
prisoners and the heads of several Indians. 

A large proportion of the land at Hoboken is owned by the Stevens 
family, who have been identified with steam navigation from its earliest 
triumphs. The head of the family laid out a village on Hoboken Point, 
in 1804. It has become a considerable city. Members of the same 
family had large manufacturing establishments there ; and for several 
years before the Civil War had been constructing, upon a novel plan, a 
huge floating battery for harbour defences, for the government of the 
United States, and more than a million of dollars had already been spent 
in its construction, when the war broke out. It had been utterly shut in 
from the public eye, until a very short time before that event. Our space 
will allow nothing more than an outline description of it. It is a vessel 



452 THE HUDSON. 



seven hundred feet long (length of the Great Eastern), covered with 
plates of iron so as to be absolutely bomb and round shot proof. It is to 
be moved by steam engines of sufficient power to give it a momentum 
that will cause it to cut a man-of-war in two, when it strikes it at the 
waists. It will mount a battery of sixteen heavy rifled cannon in bomb- 
proof casemates, and two heavy columbiads for throwing shells will be 
on deck, one forward and one aft. The smoke-pipe is constructed in 
sliding sections, like a telescope, for obvious purposes; and the huge 
vessel may be sunk so that its decks alone will be above the water. It 
is to be rated at six thousand tons. The war was productive of a variety 
of iron-clad vessels far more effective than this promises to be, and it is 
probable that it will never be completed. 

Opposite the lower part of the city of New York, and separated from 
Hoboken by a bay and marsh, is Jersey City, on a point at the mouth of 
the Hudson, known in early times as Paulus's or Pauw's Hook, it having 
been originally obtained from the Indians by Michael Pauw. This was 
an important strategic point in the revolution. Here the British esta- 
blished a military post after taking possession of the city of JSTew York in 
1776, and held it until August, 1779, when the active Major Henry Lee, 
mentioned in Andre's satire of "The Cow Chase," with his legion, sur- 
prised the garrison, killed a number, and captured the fort, just before 
the dawn. Now a flourishing city — a suburb of New York — covers that 
point. Immense numbers of travellers pass through it daily, it being the 
terminus of several important railways that connect with New York by 
powerful steam ferry-boats. Here, too, are the wharves of the Cunard 
line of ocean steamers. Before it is the broad and animated bay of New 
York, forming its harbour, and, stretching away to the south-west, nine 
miles or more, is Newark Bay, that receives the Passaic Eiver. 

Here we leave the Hudson proper, and after visiting some prominent 
places in the vicinity of the metropolis, will accompany the reader to 
the sea. 

Adjacent to Manhattan Island, and separated from it by the narrow 
East Biver, is Long Island, which stretches along the coast from West 
to East, about one hundred and forty miles. It is rich in traditional, 
legendary, and historical reminiscences. Near its western extremity, and 



THE HUDSON. 



453 



opposite the city of New York, is the large and beautiful city of Brooklyn,* 
whose intimate social and business relations with the metropolis, and 
connection by numerous ferries, render it a sort of suburban town. Its 
growth has been wonderful. Less than sixty years ago, it contained 
only a ferry-house, a few scattered dwellings, and a church. Now it 
comprises an area of 16,000 acres, with an exterior line of twenty-two 
miles. Like New York, it has absorbed several villages. It was incor- 
porated a village in 1816, and a city in 1834. Its central portion is 




JERSEY CITY A2iD CL^AR1> DOCK. 

upon a range of irregular hills, fortified during the revolution. The 
bluff on which Fort Stirling stood — now known as "The Heights" — is 
covered with fine edifices, and affords extensive views of New York and 
its harbour. "Williamsburgh, which had become quite a large city, was 
annexed to Brooklyn in 1854. Between the two cities is Wallabout Bay, 
the scene of great suffering among the American prisoners, in British 
prison-ships, during the revolution. Eleven thousand men perished 



» From the Uiitcli Srcudc-ljndl— broken land. 



454 



THE HUDSON. 



there, and their remains were buried in shallow graves on the shore. 
Near its banks was born Sarah Eapelje, the first child of European 
parents that drew its earliest breath within the limits of the State of New 
York.'''' Upon that aceldama of the old war for independence in the 
vicinity of the Hudson, is now a dockyard of the United States Govern- 
ment, which covers about forty-five acres of land. "Within the enclosure 
is a depository of curious things, brought home by officers and seamen of 
the navy, and is called the Naval Lyceum, It contains a fine geological 




cabinet, and a library of several thousand volumes. Upon a gentle hill 
back of the Navy Yard is a United States Marine Hospital, seen in our 
sketch. 

The southern portion of Brooklyn lies upon low ground, with an 
extensive water front. There, immense commercial works have been 



* In April, 1623, thirty families, chiefly Walloons (French Protestants who had taken refuge in 
Holland), aiTived at Manhattan, in charge of the first Governor of Kew Netherland. Eight of these 
families went up the Hudson, and settled at Albany ; tlie remainder chose theu- place of abode across 
the channel of the East Kiver, upon lands now covered by a portion of the city of Brooklyn and the 
United States Navy Yai'd. 



THE HUDSON. 



455 



constructed, known as the Atlantic Docks, covering forty acres, and 
aftbrding within the "slips" water of sufficient depth for vessels of 
largest size. There is an outside pier, three thousand feet in length, and 
on the wharves are extensive warehouses of granite. These wharves 
afford perfect security from depredators to vessels loading and unloading. 
A little below Brooklyn, and occupying a portion of the ground 
whereon the conflict between the British and American armies, known as 
the battle of Long Island, was fought, at the close of the summer of 




1776, is Greenwood Cemetery, one of the most noted burial-places in the 
country. A greater portion of it is within the limits of the city of 
Brooklyn. It comprises four hundred acres of finely diversified land. 
The present population of that " city of the dead" is probably not less 
than 70,000. One of the most delightful places within its borders is 
Sylvan "Water, near the shores of which may be seen a monument, over 
the grave of an Indian princess, of the tribe of Min-ne-ha-ha, the bride of 
Longfellow's Hi-a-ivat-ha, who died in New York a few years ago. Also 



456 THE HUDSON. 



the grave of M 'Donald Clarke, known in New York, twenty years ago, 
as the "Mad Poet." His monument is seen upon a little hillock in our 
sketch of Sylvan Water, Clarke was an eccentric child of genius. He 




became, in his latter years, an unhappy wanderer, with reason half 
dethi'oned, a companion of want, and the victim of the world's neglect. 
His proud spirit disdained to ask food, and he famished. Society, of 



THE HUDSON. 457 



whom liis necessities asked bread, " gave him a stone " — a monument of 
white marble, with his profile in las-relief. He died in March, 1842, 
" He was a poet," says his biographer, " of the order of Nat Lee ; one of 
those wits, in whose heads, according to Dryden, genius is divided from 
madness by a thin partition." *• 

From two or three prominent points in Greenwood Cemetery fine 
views of New York city and bay may be obtained, but a better compre- 
hension of the scenery of the harbour, and adjacent shores, may be had 
in a voyage down the Bay to Staten Island. f This may be accomplished 




G0VEEK0E"S and liEKLUt'S LSLANDS. 



many times a day, on steam ferry-boats, from the foot of "Whitehall 
Street, near "The Battery." As we go out from the "slip," we soon 
obtain a general view of the harbour. On the left is Governor's Island, 
with Castle Williams upon its western extremity, and Port Columbus 



* Duyckinck's Cj'clopsedia of American Literature." 

t This island was purchased from the Indians in 1630, by the proprietor of tlie land on which Jersey 
city now stands, and all of that vicinity. It reverted to the Dutch West India Company, when it was 
called Status Eylandt, or the State's Island. A considerable number of French Protestants (Huguenots), 
who fled to America after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, settled on Staten Island. The British 
troops took, possession of the island in 1776, and held it until the autumn of 178.1. 

3 N 



458 



THE HUDSON. 



lying upon its crown, shaded with old Lombardy poplars. On the right 
is Bedloe's Island,* mostly occupied by Fort Wood, a heavy fortification, 
erected in 1841. Near it is Ellis's Island, with a small military work, 
called Fort Gibson. This was formerly named Gibbet Island, it being 
then, as now, the place for the execution of pirates. These islands 
belong to the United States. The forts upon them were used as prisons 
for captured soldiers of the armies in rebellion during the Civil War. 

Before the voyager down the bay lies Staten Island, which, with the 
western end of Long Island, presents a great barrier to the ocean winds 




^m^d. 



^5^^--=^- 



THE NARROWS, FROM QUARANTINE. 



and waves, and affords a shelter to vessels in the harbour of New York 
from the tempest outside. It is nearly oval-shaped, fourteen miles in 
length, and eight in breadth. It was heavily wooded, and sparsely 
settled, when the British army occupied it, in the summer of 177C. 
Now, the hand of cultivation is everywhere visible. Its shores bordering 
on New York Bay are dotted with lively villages, and all over the broad 
rano-e of hills that extend from the Narrows, across the island, are superb 



So nametl from Isaac Bedloe, the ipatenUe under aovernor Nicholson. 



THE HUDSON. 



459 



coimtry-seats, and neat farmhouses. It is a favourite place of summer 
residence for the wealthy and business men of New York — easy of access, 
and salubrious. These country-seats usually overlook the bay. The 
tourist will find an excursion over this island a delightful one. 

On the northern extremity of Staten Island, the State of New York 
established a quarantine as early as 1799, and maintained it until the 
beginning of September, 1858, when the inhabitants of the village that 
had grown up there, and of the adjacent country, who had long petitioned 
for its removal as a dangerous nuisance, destroyed all the buildings by 
fire. There had been more than five hundred cases of yellow fever there 




vW;^-j:,.,.b.. 




two years before, and the distress and alarm created by that contagion 
made the people determine to rid themselves of the cause. Since the 
destruction of the establishment, a hospital-ship, to serve quarantine 
purposes, has been anchored in the lower bay, preparatory to some 
permanent arrangement. 

Prom the Quarantine Dock may be obtained an excellent view of the 
Narrows, the ship channel between Long and Staten Islands through 
which vessels pass to and from the sea. Our little sketch gives a 
comprehensive view of that broad gate to the harbour of New York. On 
the right is seen Staten Island, with the new and substantial battery on 



460 



THE HUDSON. 



the water's edge, just below the unfinished Fort "Wadsworth (formerly 
Port Eichmond). On the left is the Long Island shore, with Fort 
Hamilton on its high hank, and Fort Lafayette, formerly Fort Diamond, 
in the stream below. The latter fort is upon Hendrick's Eeef, two 
hundred yards from the Long Island shore. It was commenced in 1812, 
but had not been thoroughly completed when the Civil War commenced, 
although 350,000 dollars had been spent upon it. It was then capable 
of having mounted seventy-fi-ve heavy guns. It soon became famous as a 




OEi' U.\MlLiU>. 



political state prison in which many citizens, charged with disloyal, 
seditious, and treasonable acts toward the Government, were confined. 
Among them was Mr. Faulkner, of Yirginia, who was the United States 
minister to the French Court during Mr. Buchanan's administration ; the 
mayor and chief of police of Baltimore ; members of the Maryland legis- 
lature, and the mayor of Washington city. The latter was released after 
a short confinement, on taking the oath of allegiance. 

On the eastern border of the Narrows stands Fort Hamilton, a strong 



THE HUDSON. 461 



fortification completed in 1832, when a war with France seemed to be 
impending. It was enlarged and strengthened during the Civil War. 
At the beginning of the rebellion it mounted sixty heavy guns (a portion 
of them en harbette), forty-eight of which bore upon the ship channel. 
The fort is elevated, and commands the Lower Bay from the Narrows 
towards Sandy Hook. This work, with the fortifications on the opposite 
shore of Staten Island, and the water battery of Fort Lafayette in the 
channel, render the position, at the entrance to Xew York Bay, almost 
impregnable. 

A delightful voyage of fifteen minutes in a steamer, or half an hour 





SUEF BATHING, CONEl" ISLAND. 



in a sail-boat, will take us to Coney Island, once a peninsula of Long 
Island at the lower end of Gravesend Bay. It is now connected with 
the main, by a good road, a causeway, and a bridge. The island is about 
five miles in length, and one in width, and contains about sixty acres of 
arable land. The remainder is made up of sand dunes, formed by the- 



462 



THE HUDSON. 



action of the winds. These resemble snow-drifts, and are from five to 
thirty feet in height. It is a favourite summer resort for bathers, its 
beach being unsurpassed. ISTear the Pavilion, at its western end, the 
scene of our little sketch, the beach is very flat, and surf bathing is 
perfectly safe. There crowds of bathers of both sexes, in their sometimes 
grotesque dresses, may be seen every pleasant day in summer, especially 
at evening, enjoying the water. Eefreshments are served at the Pavilion 
near, and a day may be spent there pleasantly and profitably. There are 
two or three summer boarding-houses at the other end of the island, 
which may be reached from Brooklyn in the space of forty-five minutes, 
by railways. 

Between Coney Island and Sandy Hook, is an expanse of wat' r, several 




SAKDi: HOOK, FEOM TUJi tjHiP 



•miles across, in which is the sinuous channel followed by. large vessels 
in their entrance to and exit from the harbour of New York in charge of 
the pilots. To the right, beyond Earitan Bay, is seen the New Jersey 
shore; while southward, in the blue distance, loom up the Navesink 
Highlands, on which stand the lighthouses first seen by the voyager from 
Europe, when approaching the port of New York. 

Sandy Hook is a long, low, narrow strip of sandy land, much of it 



THE HUDSON. 



463 



covered with shrubs and dwarf trees. It is about five miles in length, 
from the Navesink Lights to its northern extremity, whereon are two 
lighthouses. It is the southern cape of Raritan Bay, and has twice been 
an island, within less than a century. An inlet was cut through by the 
sea during a gale in 1778, but closed again in the year 1800. Another 





S\NI>\ UOOTk, from IHF LI&HTHOli 



inlet was cut in 1830, and for several years it was so deep and broad that 
steamboats passed through it. That is now closed. 

At the northern extremity of Sandy Hook, the United States are now 
erecting strong fortifications. These will materially strengthen the 
defences of the harbour of New York, as this fort will command the ship 



464 



THE HUDSON. 



channel. About a mile below the pier, near the lighthouse, on the inner 
shore of the Hook, once stood an elegant monument, erected to the 
memory of a son of the Earl of Morton, and thirteen others, who were 
cast away near there, in a snow-storm, during the revolution, and 
perished. All but one were officers of a British man-of-war, wrecked 
there. They were discovered, and buried in one grave. The mother of 
the young nobleman erected the monument, and it remained, respected 
even by the roughest men of the coast, until 1808, when some vandals, 
from a French vessel-of-war, landed there, and destroyed that beautiful 
memorial of a mother's love. 

Here, reader, on the borders of the great sea, we will part company for 
a season. We have had a pleasant and memorable journey from the 
Wilderness, three hundred miles away to the northward, where the forest 
shadows eternally brood, and the wild beasts yet dispute for dominion 
with man. We have looked upon almost every prominent object of 
Nature and Art along the borders of the Hudson, and have communed • 
profitably, I hope, with History and Tradition on the way. We have 
seen every phase of material progress, from Nature in her wildest forms, 
to Civilisation in its highest development. Our journey is finished— our 
observations have ceased-and here, with the yielding sand beneath our 
feet, a cloudless sky bending over us, and the heaving ocean before us— 



'Tlie sea! the sea! llie open sea! 
The Wne, the fresh, (he ever free ! 



we will say Farewell 



I'KINTKU iJl- VIRTL'K AND CO., CITY ROAD, LONDON. 



.. /^^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





007 394 953 1 tf 



